


$3000

by Simbanrat



Series: $3000 [1]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Boys In Love, Falling In Love, Light Angst, M/M, Pretty Woman References, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:09:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28620096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simbanrat/pseuds/Simbanrat
Summary: $3000 was the alternate title for ‘Pretty Woman’.Yes this is a pretty woman rip off. Callum is a hooker, Ben is looking for directions but finds a lot more than he ever intended.It doesn't follow the story so much as I've stolen the basic premise.
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Series: $3000 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2178969
Comments: 142
Kudos: 184





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another idea that came to me at work. This is my first attempt at an alternate universe so go easy on me 😂.
> 
> Kudos and/or comments are always appreciated, I never know if anyone wants to read what I write.

It was a chilly Autumn evening, the sky darkening and the temperature dropping. Callum was sitting on a wall, his feet still touched the ground because of his long legs but his bum was resting on the brick, taking the pressure off his feet. He had been on them for a few hours now, just 20 minutes relief from the throbbing in his soles. He watched the cars drive past, keeping an eye out in case any of them were going to stop and was ready to stand up if he thought he was going to get a nibble.

The headlights of the cars carried on driving, none of them looked as though they were going to stop, zooming past without so much as a thought. He didn’t tend to get much business on Tuesday evenings, he was lucky to get one client already that night. He would have packed up and gone home already but rent was due and Whit wasn’t feeling well so he was having to try and make up the shortfall.

As yet another car drove by he picked up the jacket that was sitting on the wall next to him, he was only wearing a vest top at the moment and his goose pimples were getting goose pimples on them from the cold in the air. He was about to put it on when a car stopped in front of him. He was surprised, he hadn’t even notice it approach and it was nice, not the type of vehicle he would expect to see in his area of the city.

He pushed himself up off the wall, carrying the coat in his hand as he walked towards the driver’s side of the car. He made sure to swing his hips as he walked, making a show of his body as he got closer. When he reached the car he leaned down so his face was framing the window, it was shut and behind it was a man talking into a phone. Callum couldn’t quite work out what he looked like though, the phone was obscuring his face and the inside of the car was in darkness.

Callum tapped on the window to get the other man’s attention, the guy turned towards his direction looking annoyed and still talking into the phone, he waved him off and turned back to face the front, looking out the windscreen as Callum heard his voice getting louder, seemingly arguing with whoever was on the other end of the phone call.

Callum stood back up and turned around before leaning back against the car, his arse now framed in the window instead of his face. He was wearing tight leather trousers and he knew his bum was one of his best features, encased within the sexy leather it made it all the rounder and he had convinced many a client who was about to walk away to stay with one flash of his perfect butt in the past. He stood for a moment, waiting for the potential John to come to his senses but there was nothing.

He gave it another minute but nothing was forthcoming so he pushed off the car and walked away, back to where he was sat on the wall a few minutes before. He turned round and sat back down, eyeing the car again and taking in its beauty. Even in the darkening light he could tell it was expensive, curves in all the right places. If it were a man he’d want to fuck it.

He decided to put his jacket back on now, the cold starting to get to his bones and the simple white vest was doing nothing to keep off the chill. The car continued to sit there, not driving away and he could see the outline of the occupant. Callum was beginning to get annoyed, this joker was in the way, if he wasn’t in the market to buy something then he was going to stop another potential customer from rocking up.

It was some ten minutes later, another car slowed down as it got closer and Callum could work out it was someone he had had business with before. The driver looked as though he was going to stop, but the silver sports car was still in the way, blocking the space that this other car could go into so instead of stopping, the client drove off again. Callum was raging, he needed the money for rent and this twat was cock blocking potential income so he got up and stormed over to the car.

When he got there he rapped on the window harshly, making the man sitting inside jump. He was no longer on the phone and he looked to where Callum was stood, a bit surprised to see someone there. He wound down the window to be confronted with an angry glare from the stranger. He’d been so engrossed in his phone call that he hadn’t even really noticed the other man trying to get his attention. He had his attention now though, this good looking guy, dressed in a lovely pair of tight leather trousers which showed off an impressive bulge at just the right height. When his eyes travelled up to take in his face he was really good looking and the man wondered what he was doing standing around here on a chilly Tuesday evening.

“You looking for some company or are you just making sure nobody else can get any?” Callum asked agitatedly. The other man’s mouth dropped open, surprised that he seemed to have stumbled across a hooker. It made sense, scantily clad, street corner, a bit trashy looking… He’d clearly pulled over at a very undesirable spot to take his phone call and now he had no fucking idea where he was.

“I’m after some directions, I’m lost and the data on my phone is fucked”

“At least something is being fucked tonight” Callum sighed, “I can give you directions to anywhere you wanna go, it’s 50 quid”

“You can’t charge me for directions”

“Baby I can do anything I want, you need to get somewhere, I know how to get there. Looking at your car you can afford it. 50 quid and I’ll take you there or give me nothing and fuck off out of here so I can find someone who is interested in handing over some cash tonight”

The stranger in the car looked at him and quirked an eyebrow, surprised that they guy was so forwards in what he wanted. He was actually pretty impressed with his business mind, charging for directions in the middle of nowhere with no other options. He considered it for a moment and made his decision, reaching over to the passenger side of the car and pulling the lever to open the door. Callum smiled as he walked around to the open door and climbed in, lowering his body into the bucket seat of the car.

He settled his bum in and smiled as he felt the heated seat beginning to warm up his now cold body. Reaching out to grab the seat belt, pulling it over his chest and clicking it into place he asked the stranger where he wanted to go. The other man gave the name of a hotel and Callum smiled, telling him to drive and take a left, he knew exactly where to go.

Driving along, Callum looked at the other man properly for the first time. He was good looking, much better than the usual blokes he ran into while he was working, he should have known this guy wasn’t in the market for company for the night. As they drove by street lights the light illuminated his face for a split second and each time it did, Callum appreciated the view a little bit more. He watched as the guy reached down to change gear, wrapping his hand around the gear stick and grabbing hold tight. Callum bit his lip at the sight of the hand grasping the phallic object.

“So you get much business then?” The guy asked, snapping Callum’s eyes away from his hand.

“I do OK, swings and roundabouts u’know”

“How much do you make a night?”

Callum smiled to himself, he knew that once people started to ask these questions then they were generally interested in what he had to offer. He reckoned this guy was going to be hiring him for something. “Well your 50 quid could be paying for something a lot more enjoyable than directions believe me”

“Oh yeah?” The guy turned to look at him when they stopped at a red light, his eyes roaming from Callum’s face and down to his crotch. Callum parted his legs, pronouncing the bulge in his trousers a little more by pushing his hips up. He noticed the other man swipe a tongue over his lips and then looked back to his face, making eye contact.

“50 quid for a blow job or 100 if you wanna fuck me. I have checks every week and insist on protection”

The driver turned his face back to the road as the light turned green, pulling off and continuing to follow the directions he was being given. He didn’t comment about the price list, instead just replying now and then when Callum told him to turn left or right at the various junctions along the way. ‘Bollocks’ he thought to himself, he was sure that he had this guy on the hook but he seemingly wasn’t interested. At least he was getting some money out of the encounter and no aching jaw for it either so win win he guessed.

When they pulled up at the hotel ten minutes later the car stopped and the man took the keys out, he hesitated for a moment and then climbed out, handing his key to the door man that came rushing over to help get his things. Callum climbed out and went to stand by him, waiting for his money, the guy took the hint and pulled out his wallet, taking out a crisp £50 note and handing it over. Callum smiled and thanked him, telling him that if he needed directions again then he knew where he was.

“You going to be able to get back ok?”

“Yeah, there’s a bus”

“Ok, so erm, thanks for that”

“Thanks for the fifty”

“Take care yeah?”

“You too”, Callum turned to leave, willing the guy to stop him. He took a couple of steps when he heard the man speak again. “U’know what, I’m in a city I don’t know, maybe I could do with a bit of company”. Callum smiled and internally pumped a fist before he turned back round to face the man with a smile on his face. 

“I have time”

“I have a room, obviously… so yeah, upstairs ok?”

“Sounds good”

The man lead the way, Callum following behind him. As they walked into the foyer of the hotel Callum was surprised by how large and decadent it was. He knew this was a nice area and a nice hotel but he had no idea quite how nice it was. He was acutely aware of his clothes all of a sudden, the leather trousers that looked awesome in the dark but were tatty in the light of the building, his vest top was just a cheap top from Primark and his boots were held together with a safety pin where the zip was broken on one side.

He stopped close behind the man when he popped to the reception desk to ask if there were any messages for him, convinced everyone was looking at and judging him. The guy didn’t seem to care about any possible looks or judgement being sent their way though and reached behind him to take Callum’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze before letting go and carrying on talking to the receptionist. Soon he looked round to him to say they were going up now, striding over to the lift with confidence with Callum trailing behind him.

In the lift the stranger pressed the button for the top floor and it was silent on the journey up, just coy looks at each other as the lift travelled up the through building. It stopped and the doors pinged open and then they were walking down the corridor, until they got to a door. On a plaque to the side it announced it the ‘Prince Albert suite’ and Callum had a little chuckle to himself because of the piercing reference, he’d seen a few of those in his time.

“What’s your name?” The man turned to ask him before going to open the door

“Anything you want it to be baby”

The man looked unimpressed at that though so Callum answered “Rob”, the other guy didn’t look convinced so he answered properly, “my name is Callum”. He nodded back at him and replied, “I’m Ben” as he used the key card to unlock the room. The light went green as he waved the card over the entry pad and he pushed the handle down, pushing the door open and walking through. Callum followed after and the heavy door swung shut behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

Stepping into Ben’s hotel room took Callum’s breath away, it was so much more than a room, it was at least double the size of his entire flat and he was only stood in the entrance way. Ben was walking ahead of him and put the key card down on the side, pausing for a moment to look back at him and then continuing on into the room as Callum seemed unable to make his legs work.

Callum looked around him, everything about this place screamed rich, he thought that even the vase sitting on the table to his left was worth more than anything he owned in his life. He suddenly felt very out of place and nervous, he was used to quick blow jobs in the back of straight men’s cars, being fucked by self loathing gays in a rent by the hour room. This was something entirely different and his skin began to itch, a voice in him was telling him to make a run for it, to take the £50 in his pocket and get the hell out of there. 

Ben was rich and good looking, what was he doing taking a prostitute back to his very expensive hotel room. He began to wonder if the bloke was a psychopath, what if there was a trail of hookers he’d picked up across the country, murdered and buried in shallow graves in the countryside. A man this rich could probably pay to cover up murdering gutter trash like him. This seemed like a really bad idea all of a sudden. He quickly took out his phone and clicked on his best friend’s picture, dialling her number and letting it ring until she answered. 

Walking further into the room so that Ben was in earshot, he purposely spoke loud and clear, telling Whitney exactly where he was just in case. It was something she’d told him to do when she first introduced him to this way of life, always let someone know where you are and who you are with. She was the first person he made friends with when he came home from the army, she took him in and gave him somewhere to stay when he realised that his family had picked up and fucked off without leaving him a forwarding address. He’d never especially got on with them, even less so when they found out he was gay. The army was an escape from them but when he was injured in the line of duty he had no option but return home. The flat was empty and a neighbour told him they’d moved on six months before and had no idea where they’d gone. 

Callum was drinking in a pub, his small back pack contained the only possessions he had in the world when Whitney walked in. She tripped over it and started to swear at him, but when she noticed how alone and sad he looked she bought him a drink instead. A few hours later, both drunk, she insisted he go home with her. She tried to kiss him when they walked in the door and he went bright red and backed away, apologising that he was gay. She just threw her head back and laughed, “course you are, ain’t all the best looking ones gay” she said as she pulled him into a hug instead. “Go on, you can kip on the sofa”. That was a year ago, they shared the bed now though, the sofa did his back in after one night and they found comfort in snuggling up with each other platonically. 

He hadn’t wanted to sell his body but he realised he had little else to offer at that point, and they both needed the money. Whit had been doing it for a year already by then and she’d managed to keep herself sane and safe so he thought why not. Between them they could earn enough for rent and then save some too, both hoping that eventually they would be able to leave this way of life. Callum wanted to go to catering college, in the army he’d been a cook and he longed to be able to work in a proper kitchen while Whitney wanted to do fashion design. It was a long way away for now but was the dream to work towards. 

The first time Callum went out with her on the streets was scary but she reassured him and promised she was there with him to keep him safe. He’d earned £50 for a few minutes work, the guy he got into the car with came as soon as he’d wrapped his lips around him while she hovered around the corner to make sure he was ok. It was Whit that told him to always get the money first, to always ALWAYS use protection and dragged him to the sexual health clinic to make sure he was ok. 

He found he was able to separate what he did on the streets from what he did with the rest of his life. He’d had a couple of dates in the last year, sleeping with them and instantly being able to tell the difference between being fucked for money and choosing to have sex with someone. It only took a couple of months before he settled into his new life and the fear and feelings of worthlessness were something he just learned to live with. This was only temporary after all and Callum had no plans to still be doing this in five years time. He and Whitney would be living and working elsewhere before too long he was sure. 

When he’d made sure to let his best friend know where he was he put the phone back in his pocket and looked around the room he’d walked into properly. There were ceiling to floor windows along the whole length of the wall with doors that opened onto an outside space. A massive, lavish L shaped sofa took up one corner of the room and a projection screen on the wall in place of a television was surrounded with speakers to make it look like a cinema. This was more like an apartment not a hotel room, a dining area and kitchen were also contained within the walls and a staircase lead up to what Callum could only assume was the bedroom. 

Ben was standing in a kitchen area and was pouring himself a beer, he looked up and asked if Callum wanted anything as well and he asked for a soft drink. Ben looked at him curiously and grabbed him a can of coke out of a fridge and put it on the worktop for him. Callum thanked him and went to pick it up, pausing momentarily to really look at Ben for the first time in the bright light of the hotel room.

He was even better looking than he first thought. He was shorter than he was, but that wasn’t surprising, Callum was a tall guy, but he was very handsome. He had short hair, swept to one side, lovely blue eyes that felt like they could look straight into your soul if you let them and freckles dotted across his face that made him look young and adorable. Callum wondered how old the other man was, he looked too young to be this rich and he figured he must be one of those rich kids that used to make fun of him when they passed him on the way to school. But Ben didn’t sound rich either, he sounded east end, like him. 

Ben had an air of confidence about him, like he knew what he wanted and what he was doing. Callum found that attractive, in fact he found Ben attractive in general. It hadn’t happened to him before and fancying a punter was a first for him. This was the first time he’d been taken anywhere nice too, much nicer than the skanky hotel rooms with stains on the sheets, probably from the last ‘guests’ who spent a total of twenty minutes in the place before returning the key and fucking off again. Maybe he was being drawn into the nice surroundings, finding Ben more attractive in the nice hotel than he would sitting in the back seat of a Ford Fiesta. 

Callum looked at the clock, it was now forty minutes since he’d climbed into the car, time was ticking and time was money, the longer he spent here the less likely it was he would be able to cram another punter in tonight, and with Whitney back at home he needed to work enough for the pair of them. “So what do you want to do Ben?”

“What do you do?”

“Anything you want. But I don’t kiss on the mouth”

Ben looked at him inquisitively then, “that’s fine, I don’t either” he replied almost immediately. Callum tilted his head slightly and smiled inwardly, wondering what this guys deal was. He knew he didn’t kiss because it was too personal, it was something he chose to do only with people he cared about, but he didn’t have a clue why Ben would set himself the same rule, the man was an enigma. 

“So, what are we doing?” Callum said as he moved closer to Ben, rounding the counter where he was stood taking a gulp of the beer in his hand. Soon he was right up close and he reached a hand out, cupping the front of the other man’s trousers and feeling an impressive package there. He gave it a squeeze and felt it respond, beginning to harden. He smiled to himself and reached into his pocket, pulling out a handful of condoms and placing them on the worktop. “Let’s get one of these on you eh” he said as he went to undo Ben’s belt. 

Ben’s hand shot out and stopped him though, “why don’t we watch a film” he suggested instead and Callum looked confused. “A film?” He repeated back. Ben stepped away from him and walked towards the giant projector screen, picking up a remote control off a shelf and switching it on. Callum just stood and stared at him, getting a bit annoyed and starting to wish he’d never got in the damn car. He’s sure he’d have picked up another client by now if he was still out on the street. 

“Look Ben, if you’re not interested in this I’ll go…”

“What makes you think I’m not interested?”

“You wanna fuck me or what? Why are we wasting time on pleasantries and movies, I’ve got places to be you know”

“Time seems important to you”

“Time is money mate”

Ben considered that for a moment and crossed his arms, quirking his eyebrow at the attractive man stood across the room from him. “How much for the whole night?” He asked eventually and Callum’s mouth dropped open. He wasn’t expecting that and didn’t know how to reply, he came up with a figure he thought the other man would turn down, “500 quid”. 

“Done” Ben stated, turning back to the projector to continue switching it on and setting up a movie. Callum stood frozen to the spot, his mouth still open and he was doing a pretty good impression of a wet fish, he managed to croak out, “what?” Ben turned back to him and confirmed what Callum thought he’d heard, “500, yeah that’s fine” reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a wallet. It was clearly expensive and bulging with cash, he pulled out a wad of fifties, counted out ten, walked over to Callum and held them out, “I assume you want it upfront?”

Callum just looked at him, at his attractive and honest looking face and then down at his hand, holding out more money than Callum could ever hope to make in a night usually. He just nodded and reached out, taking the notes out of Ben’s hand and bringing them closer to him as Ben put his wallet on a side table and went back to doing what he was doing. He looked at the money and back at Ben who was facing away from him. There was a niggle of worry in the back of his mind but the money helped to silence it. 

“So…” Ben started, “now time isn’t an issue, what do you want to watch?”

“Er, action?”

“You like Marvel?” 

Callum nodded and Ben brought up a menu, picking a film Callum hadn’t got round to watching yet and turning round to check that his choice was ok with his guest. Callum nodded again and Ben went back into the kitchen to get some drinks and snacks and then went and sat on the sofa, patting the seat next to him for Callum to sit down. He shoved the money in his coat pocket and put it down on the back of a chair in the dining area before going and sitting down next to Ben. They leaned back against the sofa and their legs were touching slightly, Ben put his arm out and draped it over Callum’s shoulders, softly starting to brush his fingertips on Callum’s bare shoulder.

They watched the movie and then put on a second, Ben’s fingers continuing to brush ghost touches over Callum’s skin and eventually Callum could feel his eyes beginning to droop, he shook his head to try and wake himself up somewhat. He felt like he should do something, give Ben his moneys worth so he placed a hand in Ben’s lap, letting it walk closer to the flies to open them up. Ben smiled at him and told him not to worry, they had all night before he took Callum’s hand off his crotch and held it instead, turning back to continue to watch the film.

Before he knew it Callum dropped off, snoring softly with his head tilted back against the back of the sofa. Ben moved away from him and stood up, positioning the sleeping man so he was laying down comfortably, grabbing a blanket from a cupboard and draping it gently over him. He flicked off the film, turned the lights off and headed upstairs to the bedroom, allowing Callum to sleep in peace while he climbed into bed alone.


	3. Chapter 3

When Callum woke up a few hours later he was confused and a bit worried about where he was. The last thing he remembered was watching a film with a punter and now he was waking up alone with no sign of said punter. He wanted to check that he hadn’t had a kidney removed or anything, the worry that he had genuinely gone to a psychopath’s room was still a very real possibility. But he seemed to be in tact, everything was where it was meant to be and he didn’t feel any pain anywhere.

He looked around the dark room, trying to work out what time it was when he remembered his phone was in his coat pocket, he got up and walked over to where he left it and grabbed it out of the pocket, it was 3am and he’d had a message from Whit asking where he was and checking he was ok. He quickly rang her and hoped she was still awake.

“Callum everything ok?” She picked up and asked immediately.

“Yeah, sorry if I worried you I fell asleep”

“Where are you? You still at the hotel?”

“Yeah I fell asleep watching a film”

“A film?”

“Yeah… Whit, this guy is loaded, he’s given me 500 quid to stay the night and I ain’t done nothing yet with him”

“Is he a nutter?”

“I dunno maybe, he seems nice though, just a bit lonely maybe”

“You staying there?”

“I guess, he paid me to, he could always wake up and fancy something later”

“Ok, you take care though yeah, call me in the morning and remember….”

“No condom, no entry…I know”

“Love ya babes”

“You too”. Callum cancelled the call and went to the kitchen to get a drink, he opened the fridge and it was chocker block full of bottles of champagne and expensive beers. He rummaged around until he found a bottle of mineral water and brought it out, taking the lid off and having a big swig of it before putting the bottle down on the worktop. He needed a wee and figured he should try and find the bathroom, he hadn’t noticed it when he first arrived and he didn’t think Ben would appreciate him watering one of the plants in the living room for him.

He took his phone with him and used the torch on the back to light the way, he crept over to the stairs and started to walk up them, reaching the top step and noticing how many doors lead off the landing, he was only expecting one or two but there were half a dozen and he wondered how many damn rooms this place had. He went to the first door and poked his head round, shining his torch and was relieved to see a bathroom. He stepped in and switched the light on before shutting the door behind him. It was huge, bigger than his living room and the bath was massive, he thought he could lay down with limbs spread out and still have space to spare. He made a mental note to have a bath before he left in the morning and went to have a wee, flushing the loo after he finished and giving his hands a quick wash.

He switched the light back off as he opened the door and stepped out into the dark hallway, using his torch again to explore the other rooms, the next one looked like a mini gym and Callum shook his head, completely surprised to see such a thing in somebody’s hotel room. The next was an office containing all the technology a businessman could possibly need, on the desk a computer monitor was turned on and showed a logo for a business he’d heard of before, Mitchell’s automobiles, he wondered if Ben worked for them in some capacity.

The next door he opened he found Ben, he was curled on his side in a big bed but he was right up against the edge of it, a vast empty space behind him. Callum almost walked out again to go find another bedroom but something propelled him forwards. He took a few steps towards the bed and lifted his vest up and over his head, flinging it on a chair that was nearby. He sat down on it and undone his boots, taking them and his socks off and leaving them on the floor next to the chair before he took his leather trousers off and put them with his vest.

He pulled the cover back on the opposite side of the bed from where Ben was sleeping and climbed in, putting the cover over his body and scooting closer to where the other man was. When he was close enough to feel body heat the other man sensed he was there and turned over and towards him, opening an eye blearily to see who was there before he moved closer and put his head on Callum’s chest, placing his hand on his stomach and hooking a leg over Callum’s leg. He went back to sleep almost immediately and Callum started to stroke at Ben’s hair, twiddling the strands in his fingers before he felt himself starting to fall back asleep too.

The next time he woke up it was morning and Ben was still wrapped around him albeit in a different position. Now Callum was laying on his side with Ben spooning him, and he could feel Ben’s morning wood poking into his back. He was torn, feeling like he should reach behind him to take care of business since that’s what he’s being paid for, but wondering if it was worth it if Ben was too sleepy and unaware to care.

In the end the decision was taken out of his hands when Ben woke up, he whispered “morning” in Callum’s ear before removing himself from around him and climbed out of bed. Callum turned over to see him disappear through a doorway and heard a shower within switch on. With the bed to himself he rolled onto his back and spread his arms and legs out, genuinely confused as to what the hell was wrong with the man in the other room. The guy had given him £500 and as yet has shown zero interest in anything sexual, what did he actually want he wondered to himself.

Five minutes later Callum was still laying there, now with his hands behind his head and his eyes closing again when he heard the door open. Ben was stood there with a towel around his waist, his body was glistening from the shower and his hair was cute and dripping with water. Callum let his eyes run up and down the other man’s body and felt a stirring in his own, Ben looked even more attractive in the daylight and the freckles he had on his face were nothing to the ones that dotted over his chest and body. He was about to pull the cover on the bed back and invite Ben back in when he walked past the bed and towards the door, asking Callum if he wanted anything from room service for breakfast.

“Er anything I guess, I don’t mind”

“I’ll call down and get a selection sent up”, he smiled and turned to walk out when Callum stopped him, “Ben, I noticed you have a big bath… you going to get in it with me?” He asked as he pulled back the bed cover to show him his body, hoping to tempt him into something.

“Nah, you go ahead though, there’s bubble bath and stuff in there” Ben replied as he walked out the room, leaving Callum even more confused and a bit offended. He looked down at his body and wondered if there was something wrong with him, why would a man pay someone to stay the night and turn down sex when it was offered on a plate. This whole situation was fucking weird and he really wished he hadn’t met the man. But… the bath was calling so he climbed out of bed and plodded along the landing towards the bathroom, smiling as he opened the door to the giant bath again.

He was right, he could lay down, spread out and there was still space to spare, you could probably have a orgy in this bath and he wondered how good this place would be for business, just a shame he could never afford to stay here in a million years. When he got out he wrapped one of the complimentary bathrobes around his body and went downstairs just as Ben was shutting the door to someone, when Callum looked at the table it was full of food from the room service delivery. Every single breakfast option you could imagine was laid out before him and his stomach started to growl from the delicious looking sight. He hadn’t really eaten except for a few snacks the night before and now his body was telling him how desperate it was to get something in it.

Ben gestured for him to sit down and Callum went to sit in a chair next to where Ben was going to sit down. He grabbed a pastry to nibble on while he was eyeing up everything else, trying to decide what he fancied eating the most. In the end he settled for some fried food, a choice that Ben joined him in and they ate their bacon and eggs in relative silence, looking at each other now and then with a coy smile before looking back at their own plates, especially when Ben stabbed a sausage with his fork and bit a large lump off the end. Ben put his cutlery on the plate when he was finished and smiled at Callum, telling him to feel free to have anything else he wanted.

Callum managed to eat some pancakes as well. Pouring on a generous amount of maple syrup before forcing a couple of them in. His stomach was about to burst so he finally had to admit defeat, feeling bad about how much food was still sitting on the table and was going to go to waste. Ben didn’t seem bothered though and said he’d ring down and get someone to come take it away again. They sat in silence for a few minutes and Callum wondered if maybe now was the time to try again with Ben so he pushed his chair back away from the table and started to undo the belt of his dressing gown, about to expose the fully naked body underneath it to the other man.

Ben watched him, his eyes drawn as Callum was unwrapping himself and when the other man had opened his gown Ben smiled and looked him up and down, appreciating the very nice sight in front of him. The taller man opened his legs up, giving Ben full permission to do whatever the hell he wanted and he was sure that the other man was going to respond, would move over and do something to him, but he didn’t. He just looked for a moment and then stood up and said he was going to call down to get this lot cleared away as he gestured to the table.

“I’ll get dressed and head off then” Callum responded. There was no point in him staying, Ben paid for the night, it was now morning. He had given the guy more than enough opportunities to fuck him and he’d fulfilled his end of the deal as far as he was concerned. If Ben was too weird to want to do what he paid for then that was his problem. He stood up and did the dressing gown back up, walking over to the stairs and heading up as he heard Ben call down to room service.

Back in the bedroom Callum grabbed his clothes and got dressed again, his vest and trousers feeling dirty this morning after spending the night in such a nice room. He left the damp dressing gown on the chair where his clothes were and went back downstairs. Ben was sitting on the L shaped sofa and had put the news on to watch, eyeing Callum as he walked down the stairs and towards him. The taller man went to where his jacket was hanging and double checked that the money was still in the pocket and he placed his phone back in there too. Ben watched him the entire time.

“I guess I’ll get going then”

“Yeah, er do you need me to order you a taxi or something? They can do it in reception if you want”

“Nah it’s fine, I know the bus routes… so see ya around”, Callum waited a moment but Ben just looked at him so he turned to go. He got as far as the door, his hand on the handle when he heard a rustling behind him and Ben’s voice just over his shoulder, “stay”.

He turned around to look at the smaller man who stood a few feet away, feeling totally confused. He was about to open his mouth and ask what the point was when Ben cut in, “I’m here for a week, it’s lonely in a city you don’t know in a big hotel room. I don’t expect you to stay for free, of course I’ll pay you, but stay?”

“Why? You didn’t touch me the whole night, if you don’t want someone to fuck why pay them to be here”

“I just wanted some company” Ben answered honestly. “I… lost someone last year, someone I cared about a lot and I find it hard to sleep when I know I’m alone. It just helps knowing someone else is here.” Callum looked at him and he could see he was telling the truth, there was a sadness in those beautiful blue eyes, a sadness he’d felt himself. “I’ll be working a lot in the day, you can come and go as you please, work in the day yourself if you want, I just… knowing someone is here helps to quell the nightmares, stay the nights with me”. Callum felt bad, Ben was clearly hurting and he wondered what went down to cause it, he figured it must have been pretty traumatic.

“Ten grand” Ben announced. Callum’s eyes shot open wide, that was way more money than he ever imagined he’d ever be offered for anything. Ten grand to just spend the nights here, to do what he wants with the rest of his time, to just snuggle with someone. He could do that. “Are you sure? You’re a good looking guy Ben, you could get anyone to come back and spend the night, you really don’t need to pay someone to do it, believe me”

“That’s more complicated. This is a business arrangement, when I leave in a weeks time the contract is terminated, otherwise it could get messy”

“I guess that makes sense”

“So you’ll stay?”

Callum thought it over for a minute, that money would go a long way to helping to pay for catering college, he could stop selling his body a lot sooner with that kind of cash injection so it was a no brainer. “Ok yeah”. Ben smiled and looked relieved, “ok good, I’ve got a meeting I need to go to, but I’ll stop off at reception on my way out and sort a key out for you to be left there so you can do what you want while I’m out”.

They exchanged numbers so Ben could let Callum know when he was due home and Ben handed over £2500 in cash, telling him that he would get the rest at the end of the week. The taller man had no doubts that he was good for the money and trusted that he would keep up his end of the deal come the last day. Ben disappeared upstairs to get dressed to go out and Callum looked around the room, trying to process what was happening. As Ben came back down and was about to leave to head off to work, looking good in a three piece suit, he stopped and thanked Callum for staying with him, letting himself out and closing the door shut behind him.

Once he was alone Callum jumped up and down on the spot, running over to the sofa and flinging himself down on it and flailing his arms and legs around screaming for joy. When he managed to calm down he grabbed his phone and called Whitney… “hello?” She answered.

“Whit, you’re never going to believe what happened…”


	4. Chapter 4

A few hours after Ben left Callum decided to pop back home to grab some clothes to take back to the hotel. He made sure he had his cash and phone before leaving the room and going down to reception to grab a key card that Ben said he’d leave there for him. As he approached the desk he felt like the woman standing there was looking down at him and he pulled his jacket tighter around him, trying to hide the cheap top underneath. Part of him wanted to turn and walk away, take the £3000 he already had in his pocket and be done with it, but the promise of another £7500 was too great and he knew he had to tough it out, no matter how embarrassed or ashamed he was feeling in this environment.

He got to the desk and asked if someone had left a key card there for him. The woman rather snootily asked him who might have done that and had he come to the right hotel. He looked down for a moment and pulled the jacket even tighter before looking up and telling her it was Ben. She just looked at him blankly and didn’t move, leaving him to feel even more uncomfortable, he was about to walk off and wait for Ben to call him later when the doorman from the previous evening came over to talk to the receptionist.

“He’s with Mr Mitchell Gloria, in the Prince Albert suite”. She looked over Callum, noticed the shocked looked on his face at hearing the name and sneered slightly before she turned around to a cupboard, fumbling around and picking up an envelope then returning to the desk with it. She placed it down in front of Callum, “a spare key for the Prince Albert suite, don’t lose it”. He picked it up, thanked her and walked over to the guy who had come to his rescue. “Thanks for that, I didn’t know what his last name was”. The man just looked at him and nodded, walking back to the door and holding it open for Callum to walk through.

Back out on the street he took a deep breath, the air felt sweeter and less constricting out here. The street is where he felt comfortable, in a posh five star hotel he was worse than a piece of shit on one of their shoes, the way that woman looked at him made his skin crawl and his face flush pink. But Ben didn’t make him feel like that though, he made him feel normal, like there wasn’t something wrong with him or that he was about to steal something. How can the staff in a posh place look down on someone more than someone who can actually afford to stay there. It was beyond him. 

With the new information that Ben’s surname was Mitchell he was really confused with the situation. The Mitchell family were self made millionaires, they were famous for their chain of garages and car showrooms up and down the country. They were the go to place for the rich and famous to buy their expensive cars and Callum wondered how Ben slotted into the business. Maybe he was a cousin in the family or something… he made a mental note to try and ask him next time he saw him, see if he was willing to talk about it with him. He didn’t want to pry and go behind his back though, wanting to let the other man have his privacy. If he was a Mitchell though then £10,000 was nothing to him and Callum wonders how much more he would have offered.

He figured that since he had a bit of money in his pocket that he might as well take a taxi home, with so much cash on him it didn’t feel safe to be around a lot of people just in case someone got sticky fingers. Luckily a taxi was just pulling into driveway of the hotel and he managed to hail it to stop, climbing in and giving the address of the flat. The driver set off without a word, this felt more normal and he didn’t feel like he was being looked down on by someone like in the hotel.

As the taxi drove through the nice area of the city he looked out at the posh houses and well kept streets. The longer they travelled the more the landscape changed with Edwardian townhouses giving way to council houses and blocks of flats. Eventually it pulled up outside where he lived, the Chinese takeaway shop underneath and flat above it. The driver told him the cost and he handed over a note to cover it, letting him keep the change before opening the door and stepping out.

He felt more comfortable here than he did back at the hotel, this was a lot more like the area he grew up in, kids hanging about on street corners and alcoholics drinking from cans on the benches. This is definitely home. He looked up at the windows and started walking around the back of the shop, unlocking the back door that leads up to the flat and walking up the staircase. When he let himself into the flat, Whitney came rushing over to him to give him a hug.

“You’re back, thank god… I was worried that guy had gone all nutso on ya” she breathed into his ear, wrapping her arms around him tightly, relieved that he was home and safe. She’d never known anyone to pay a hooker to stay the whole night and she was really worried if he was going to be ok. Callum prickled at the insinuation that Ben was nuts, he felt an odd sense of loyalty towards and wanted to protect him, but he knew Whitney meant no harm. He pulled away after a moment and reassured her that he was fine.

“I’ve just come back to grab some clothes, Ben is paying me to stay the week with him”.

“You what?”

“I told ya on the phone, he wants me to spend the week at his hotel”

Whitney looked disgusted and worried in equal measure, “Callum, think… this ain’t right, he ain’t right, I hoped you’d changed your mind when you came back”.

“You don’t know him”

“And neither do you. What kinda man pays for a bloke to stay with him for the week, a sad lonely loser, it’s weird.”

“What? As weird as sleeping with people for money?” Whitney looked like the wind had gone out of her sails at that and Callum felt bad, he didn’t want to hurt her. “Look Whit, he’s paying me ten grand to stay there. He’s only going to be there in the evenings and I can do what I want during the days. He just gets lonely at night with no one else there, he didn’t even touch me last night, he just wanted the company”

“You don’t think that’s weird?”

“Maybe, but he’s rich, if you have money I guess you can buy company if you feel lonely”

She didn’t look convinced but she seemed to be softening slightly, “look, if I felt there was something creepy or weird about him I wouldn’t do it, but he’s just alone. He says he lost someone, I know how that feels. I’d have given anything to have some human contact when Chris died”.

He remembered back to how he felt when he lost Chris, it had broken his heart. He was the first man he’d fallen for, the only man he’d ever had feelings for up until then. Before him it was one night stands and secret meetings away from his family, Chris taught him it was ok to be himself. When the bomb went off and Chris was killed it hurt more than the shrapnel that pierced his own skin. He withdrew into himself and was discharged on medical grounds a year later, returning to the UK more alone than he’d ever been in his life. He was in a better place now, he had people that cared about him and who he cared about, but thinking about Ben going through something similar made him want to help him. 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the money Ben had given him, holding it out to Whitney to take and touch, “oh my god” she said as her eyes widened, “how much is here?”

“3 grand, I’m getting the rest at the end of the week”, Whitney looked at him and he knew exactly what she was thinking, “he’s good for it Whit, he has to trust me to stay too. He’s handed over this much without even flinching, how does he know I’m not going to do a runner with the whole lot otherwise”

“I guess it’s different to a 50 quid blow job” she agreed. “But Callum, just be careful ok, I don’t want you to get hurt at all”. He smiled at her and promised he’d be careful before he walked to the wardrobe to grab some clothes, deciding to take jeans and T-shirt’s with him rather than his usual work attire. He also thought it was a good idea to change out of his current outfit, taking out the key card from his pocket and putting it in his bag. He decided that going for a pair of trousers and a shirt, attempting to look as well turned out as he could if he was going to head back to the hotel was for the best. He packed enough for a few days, intending to pop back to see Whit before the week was up. He hesitated when he was about to leave, he felt bad leaving her here alone and worried about her having to go out to work by herself for the next few days.

“Are you working tonight?” He checked

“No, I’m still a bit off, but I’m probably going out tomorrow, don’t worry, I’ll give a Ruby a call, we’ll keep each other safe I promise”. He smiled at her and pulled her into another hug, knowing he was going to miss her. He took a couple of notes out of the wad of money he’d shown her and told her the put the rest in their savings pot to keep safe, promising to be home with the rest soon. As he was about to leave he told her he’d be in touch and she hugged him one last time before letting him go.

Back out on the street he looked up at the window to the flat, seeing Whit in the window waving at him, he waved back and tuned to walk away, his backpack over his shoulder and heading towards the bus stop. He’d already spent some of the money that day, there was no need to be frivolous with the rest of it and now it was safe at the flat he had no reason to avoid the bus. When one pulled up he climbed on and headed straight to the top, knowing the ride was going to be a lot longer than the taxi journey earlier. He was right, watching the housing go from council flats back to pricey houses seemed to take longer than the opposite way and eventually the bus stopped as close to the hotel as it was going to get.

When he walked around the corner to the hotel it looked huge and imposing. He looked up at the top floor, trying to work about where Ben’s room was located and he wondered how much of that floor it took up. Bracing himself he walked up the driveway and was met with the same doorman yet again who smiled at his new outfit and opened the door for him to enter. Callum smiled back and strode into the lobby holding his head high, glancing towards the reception desk to see if Gloria was still there. She was and she looked him up and down before going back to what she was doing.

Callum set off across the lobby and walked to the lift, pressing the button and waiting for it to arrive. He didn’t have to wait long and soon it was opening for him to step into. When the door shut behind him he leaned against and took a deep breath, trying to hold your head high when you’re a hooker in an expensive hotel, and everyone knows you’re a hooker is a tough ask. After a moment he pushed away from the door as the lift came to a stop and the doors opened on his floor. He had more time to take in his surroundings this time and only counted 2 more doors leading off the hallway… so not many rooms took up the top floor then, they must all be fucking massive up here. He passed one door and it said was the ‘Queen Victoria suite’, he thought it was cute to have the two of them up here together.

He got to their door and reached into his bag to retrieve the key card, hoping to god that it was going to work, he really didn’t fancy having to go back down to deal with that woman again, he didn’t think he could handle her looking down her nose at him as he squirmed under her gaze. Luckily though the card worked and the light flashed green, allowing him entry and sanctuary from the rest of the world. As he walked in the place looked the same as he left it a few hours ago and he assumed that Ben was still working. It seemed bigger now than it was last night though, the light streaming in through the large windows highlighting all the space. He decided to go and have a look outside to take in the view.

As he unlocked and pulled the door open the view was stunning, he’d never seen it from so high up before and it felt like he could see the whole city, if he squinted he was sure he could see his flat way off in the distance. It felt as though he could forget all his troubles here, it was like a different world, a world of money and no problems. He didn’t have to sell himself or live in a rough area. His family never existed and his heartache would never have happened. He knew it was temporary, but for now he could be someone else, someone better before going back to real life. A life full of faceless dicks and constant worry.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realise someone had walked out onto the balcony with him until Ben was stood next to him leaning up against the railings. Callum turned to look at him and was struck by how beautiful he looked in the late autumn sun, his face was bathed in light and his blue eyes looked almost as blue as his own, the freckles were dark and prominent and there was a birth mark on his cheek which he hadn’t noticed before. Ben was looking up at him with a soft smile, almost surprised that he was actually still there.

“How was work?” Callum asked, snapping his eyes away from staring at Ben’s face.

“It was work you know, meetings, people… blah”

“What do you do?”

“Nothing interesting… so you went to pick up some stuff?” Ben gestured to the different outfit Callum was wearing and the bag that he’d dropped on the table before going outside.

“Yeah, I figured I couldn’t spend all week in my work stuff”

“I know what you mean, I wouldn’t want to be dressed like this all the time either” he stepped back and grabbed a hold of his suit jacket, pulling it out slightly to show off the waistcoat and shirt underneath

“I dunno, it looks good on ya”

Callum swore that Ben blushed a bit at that but it might have just been a trick of the sunlight, “I’m gonna go get changed, then we can decide about what to do for dinner” he said as he turned to leave, Callum watched his bum as he walked away and blushed himself even though nobody was around to see him do it. He stayed out on the balcony for a bit longer, watching as the sky started to go pink and and sun got lower over the horizon. Eventually he went back in, just as Ben was walking down the stairs in a pair of jeans and a casual jumper, bare footed and looking comfortable, damn it he looked good like that too.

“So what do you fancy for dinner then?” Ben asked, Callum had to bite the inside of his cheek to not make a smutty comment, partly because of his growing attraction to the other man and partly because its inbuilt in him to make innuendos in these kind of situations. He took so long to answer that Ben started to list the options for him “…well there is room service, restaurant downstairs, out to an actual restaurant, takeaway if you fancy… I’m paying obviously so anything you want is fine”.

“I don’t fancy eating downstairs, they’re a bit…”

“A bit what?”

“U’know, snooty”

“Ah yeah I know what you mean, that woman on reception, fuck me” Ben laughed, “I stay here every few months and I still feel like she looks down on me cos I don’t speak proper”

“Really?” Callum was surprised, “even though you’re rich?”

“Yeah, new money innit, they’re more used to posh people staying here. At least the money makes them suck up enough to cancel it out… so… dinner?”

“I’d be ok with a takeaway and another film? I missed the end of the last one, tell me what happened and we can watch the next?”

Ben’s eyes were bright at that suggestion and Callum knew he’d picked the right option, greasy food and a film were much more appealing than the posh grub they were sure to deliver from the hotel. Callum said he knew the perfect place that would deliver to them, taking his phone out and scrolling down to takeaway he lived above. When they answered they asked if he wanted their usual, and when he confirmed that yes he did they said it would be ready to collect in 20 minutes. It was then he said he was at a hotel and they said it would be 90 minutes instead which he said was fine.

“You get Chinese a lot?” Ben asked, noticing that the other man hadn’t even mentioned any sort of food, “yeah it’s our favourite and we live above the place so we get it often”. Ben nodded, “its my favourite too… whose we?” He asked shyly. “Whitney, she’s my best friend, we live together”, Ben looked happy with the answer although Callum didn’t know why. “It’s nice to be that close to someone I bet?” Callum agreed with him and changed the subject, he didn’t need to be telling Ben about his life anymore than the other man needed to tell him about his.

“So what film are we watching tonight?”

Ben went to pick up the remote control to turn the screen on, scrolling through the list of Marvel films and picking the one that was next chronologically from the last one they watched. After a brief rundown of what Callum had missed when he fell asleep they settled on the sofa and pressed play, the loud sound system filling the room with the Marvel theme tune. Just as it was getting interesting there was a phone call, Ben grabbed it and confirmed that yes he has ordered a takeaway and to send it up. They paused the film while Ben took delivery and dished it up and then settled back down to continue watching.

By the time the movie was finished they had eaten all the food, luckily everything Callum had ordered were the same things that Ben would have ordered if he’d called them himself. There were a few prawn crackers left and Ben commented that he always preferred them stale the next day anyway with a smile. Callum did too. With the movie done and the dinner things thrown away and plates stacked up for collection it was already 10pm, Callum suggested they watched the next one but Ben said he needed to be up early for another meeting in the morning, he told the other man that he could go ahead and watch it alone if he wanted, he didn’t

“Nah, bed sounds good. Where do you want me to sleep?” Callum still wasn’t sure exactly what the other man wanted. Last night he happily let him sleep on the sofa but seemed very comfortable when he climbed into bed with him later. There were two other bedrooms too but since Ben was paying him to be there then he was going to let him choose. Ben looked torn though, not sure what to say, or maybe too embarrassed to say what he really wanted. Callum took the lead instead, “your bed was big and comfortable, big enough for two?” Ben smiled and nodded and Callum knew he’d picked the right option.

They switched everything off and headed upstairs, Ben going on ahead of Callum. The older man had no idea what was about to happen, if tonight he was going to do something more in line with his usual work and he had butterflies in his tummy. He didn’t know why though, this was what he did for a living, having sex for money… but this felt different and he couldn’t work out why. They went into Ben’s room and the shorter man disappeared into the en suite to brush his teeth, Callum could hear the vigorous brushing sound from the other room.

When Ben came out he told Callum that there was a spare toothbrush in there, the hotel always leaves a selection of toiletries out for guests and there’s everything he could possibly need in there. When he went in he saw the amazing walk in shower, it was a waterfall shower with two heads, enough room for an entire football team. That was crying out for an orgy just as much as the giant bath was in the other bathroom he thought to himself with a chuckle. He turned to the cabinet on the wall and opened it up, locating a toothbrush in a packet and helped himself to toothpaste, brushing well in case he needed to be using his mouth for something in bed, he didn’t need to worry about having minty breath for a kiss but it was nice to have a clean mouth if he was going to go down on someone.

He finished up and walked back out, Ben was just undressing as he entered the room and he switched off the bathroom light behind him. Callum watched to see how far the other man stripped down and he went as far as his underwear before climbing into bed so he did the same, getting into bed in just a pair of pants. He moved over into the middle of the bed and Ben moved closer, tentatively moving into the same position that they started in the night before.

Ben snuggled into Callum’s side and hooked a leg back over, their bodies pressed close together with Ben’s fingertips tracing lines over Callum’s stomach as Callum found his fingers twisting in Ben’s hair. “Can you turn the light off?” Ben asked, “the remote is on the shelf above you”. Callum reached up and picked up a remote control, not in the least surprised that even the lighting was posh in this place. The light went out and he replaced the remote, settling back down with Ben right up against him. He wondered if the other man’s hand would travel lower, if he should have made sure he had brought condoms up with him, it was such a rookie mistake he could have kicked himself. He was half tempted to go back down and rescue the ones he’d brought with him yesterday but Ben stopped him in his tracks when he simply lifted his head slightly to look up at Callum to tell him good night before he settled back down again.

Laying like that, warm and comfortable together, they both fell asleep within minutes.


	5. Chapter 5

Callum woke up in the morning in bed alone, he squinted at the clock on the wall and saw it was nearly 10am. He hadn’t slept that well in years, if ever. He didn’t think he’d so much as stirred in the night and he was surprised that he hadn’t even felt or heard Ben moving about and getting up. He sat up in bed and looked around, wondering if the other man was still in the suite but he couldn’t hear anything else nearby so figured he must have headed off to work already.

He stretched and then threw the covers back, climbing out of bed and heading to the en suite, deciding he wanted to try out that awesome looking shower. When he switched it on the strength of the water was intense, he stripped off his pants and got in, standing under the hot hard water, enjoying the way it was battering his body, almost strong enough to be giving his muscles a massage. He leaned his hands on the wall and bowed his head forwards, letting the water work it’s magic on his shoulders and upper back. He groaned at the marvellous feeling and allowed himself a few minutes to appreciate how lucky he was to be able to have this luxury for a few days.

Callum ended up staying under the water for so long that his fingers and toes were turning into prunes, the skin saturated with water and he decided it was time to get out. There was a towel hanging on the towel rack when he stepped out and he grabbed it off and wrapped it around his waist, stepping back out into the bedroom. He looked around to see if he’d left his phone on the side but he couldn’t see it, instead he spotted something on Ben’s side of the bed and although he knew he shouldn’t look at it he couldn’t resist.

As he got closer he noticed it was a small box, he opened it and inside was a folded up photograph and ring. He unfolded the photo and saw it was a picture of Ben with his arms around a man with dark curly hair. They looked happy and Callum wondered if this was the person that Ben had loved and lost. The accompanying ring was thick and heavy and he thought it looked similar to the one he’d seen Ben wearing. He didn’t recall him taking it off but maybe he did, he looked at it and slipped it on his finger for a moment before holding his hand up to admire it. After a minute though he took it off and placed it back in the box along with the photo he’d folded up again.

He’d spent so long snooping that he was beginning to dry off so he headed back downstairs to pick up his bag, needing something to get changed into, he walked down and into the living room, spotting his bag sitting on a chair in the dining area. As he got there he noticed that Ben had left a note for him, written with nice neat writing, lovely and clear. ‘Will be in meetings all day. Go have a good time on me. See a show, get a new wardrobe, whatever. See you later, back around 8’, next to the note was an envelope and inside was a prepaid credit card. Callum picked it up and looked at it, even more amazed that on top of the money Ben was paying him he was also giving him spending money.

Later when he was dressed and ready to go out he grabbed both the key and credit cards, slipping them into his wallet and putting it in his back pocket. He decided to go shopping and get some clothes, what he owned was fine but it wouldn’t hurt to get some new ones and it meant he might not have to pop back to the flat after all. He walked back through reception and Gloria was there again, eyeing him as he walked past. He gave her a nod and a smile as he passed her and felt smug when he saw her flush pink, clearly not expecting Callum to be sending a friendly gesture her way.

He walked down to the bus stop and double checked which bus route he needed to get to the big shopping centre on the outskirts of the city, luckily it was due any minute and within ten minutes he was sitting on the bus and on his way. He chose a seat at the back of the bus and watched the world go by as the bus trundled along. It took half an hour and once there he headed straight to the shops he always wanted to shop in but never had the money to. It wasn’t expensive stuff but it was better quality than his usual clothes. After getting a few shirts and nice pairs of jeans from some of the nicer shops he decided to stop in to get some more work clothes, the ones he had were in desperate need of replacing.

Although he didn’t want to think about it really he was still going to be doing his job at the end of the week and some fresh vests, a new pair of leathers and boots that weren’t falling apart would be good for business. Stepping into his usual type of shop he held the leather trousers up in front of him in the mirror. Looking back at him was the man that everyone else saw… the hooker. He had never been ashamed of who he was or what he did but he was aware it wasn’t exactly a career they tell you about at school. Everyone who saw him standing on a street corner, the guys who pulled over and paid him to suck them off, they all thought the same. He was some dirty druggie desperate for his next hit cos why else would he be doing it.

He didn’t care what they thought, not really, but it did make him wish that things were different. That he and Whit could give it all up and do what they were meant to be doing. This was simply a means to an end and as undesirable as it was to most people, at least it was honest work. With the cash injection from Ben he knew they were well on their way and he hoped this was something he could leave behind soon. He sighed at his reflection and lowered the clothes away from him and carried them to the till, paying for them and walking back out into the bright hallway of the shopping centre.

Just as he was about to go to one of the restaurants for some lunch he ran into somebody he knew, in truth it was a client. The very same one which had been put off stopping the other night when Ben’s car was in the way. He smiled at Callum and walked over to him, letting his eyes travel up and down his body in clothes he’d not seen him in before. Callum smiled back as best he could, not really wanting to run into someone who knew him in that way in the real world.

“Not your usual patch is it Rob?” The guy said, Callum never uses his real name with punters and he’d been using this same fake name since the very first night he’d gone out.

“Just shopping u’know” he said as he held up his many shopping bags to make his point.

“Must be earning some good money then” he said as he waggled his eyebrows at him, “Mr sports car pay well did he?” He teased, referencing Ben’s car.

“I guess”, Callum really didn’t want to talk about Ben, not to him.

The guy licked his lips and looked Callum up and down again before taking a step closer to him, leaning in close to whisper in his ear as he let a hand run up his arm softly, “my car is outside, parked in a corner, nobody will see us. I have an itch to scratch and 50 quid in my pocket”. Callum closed his eyes and wanted to pull away, wanted to shove him away but he knew he couldn’t afford to. This was a regular and wasn’t someone he could just turn away, not if he still wanted to make money when Ben had gone. He swallowed and took a deep breath before answering, “lead the way”.

As he climbed into the backseat of the car he felt nervous, this felt different to usual. It was daylight for one thing and was a million miles away from where he did this sort of thing normally. The worry of someone walking by or being caught was high, but when the bloke got £50 out of his wallet and handed it over to him, unzipped his jeans and pulled himself out, Callum did what he usually did, leaning over and doing what he was being paid to do.

Afterwards he climbed out of the car, rubbing at his mouth where his lips were dry and waved off his punter. He plastered a fake smile on his face as he drove away and then turned and walked back towards the bus stop he’d been dropped off at earlier. Funnily his appetite had disappeared and he no longer wanted to eat anything. All he wanted to do now was to go home and brush his teeth, gargle some mouthwash and have a stiff drink. He didn’t know why he felt like that though… Giving a blowjob to a guy wasn’t exactly new or unusual, in fact it was a daily occurrence, but for some reason he had an icky feeling that he hadn’t felt since the very first time he was paid to have sex with someone.

He didn’t go home though and back at the hotel he dumped the shopping bags on the floor as soon as he entered the room and headed straight for the fridge, reaching in to grab one of the beers he’d spotted the other night. He popped the top off of it and downed it in one, not stopping until the bottle was empty and he slammed it down on the work top. He then took out another and popped the top off that too, this time choosing to drink it a lot slower. Callum wasn’t a big drinker, usually one beer would go straight to head so downing a beer on an empty stomach was never going to be a good idea. He was feeling lightheaded already but still took his second beer to go and sit down, picking up the remote to put something on the tele for some background noise.

Before he knew it he was asleep, the tele playing away to itself and the beer precariously balanced in his hand, ready to fall and spill at any point. When Ben walked in he nearly tripped over the bags in the hallway, just about being able to stop himself from ending up on the floor. He looked down at the bags and was pleased that Callum had been out and treated himself, not caring what he bought or how much he spent. He put his briefcase and jacket on the table in the kitchen and walked in to try and see where the other man had gotten to.

He wasn’t expecting to find him flaked out on the sofa with a beer in his hand. He reached out and plucked it out of the loose grasp before it ended up all over the expensive piece of furniture, putting it on the table instead. He crouched down so he was level with Callum and looked at him, just realising how young he looked in his sleep. He was older than him and seemed more world wise, but looking at him now, obviously drunk and unguarded he seemed so much younger and unsure.

Ben reached out a hand and stroked his face gently, trying to rouse him out of his slumber softly. Callum’s eyelashes flickered as he began to come round and he slowly blinked his eyes open. Ben pulled back his hand so he wasn’t touching him anymore and let Callum come back to consciousness in peace. When the older man had opened his eyes and was fully aware of where he was again he felt a pounding in his head, like someone was drilling into a spot above his eye. Ben smiled and asked him if he’d eaten anything today or was it a liquid diet, the look on Callum’s face giving him his answer. “I’ll order you something to eat, then painkillers ok” Ben said as he stood up and went over to the phone.

Callum appreciated that he wasn’t angry at him, if he was paying someone to keep him company and they spent the day getting drunk and passing out he wouldn’t be too pleased about it. Ben didn’t care though, just smiled at him as he was talking on the phone and Callum found himself smiling back. When Ben had finished ordering food Callum announced he was going to go and have a bath, the other man just nodded at him and went to get his own beer out of the fridge.

The older man went upstairs and popped into the main bedroom first, going to the en suite to brush his teeth before heading back to the bathroom, when Callum stripped off and sunk his body into the bath he felt relief, being able to wash the day off of his body and the stifling heat in the room helping to clear his head. He decided to try and forget about what happened at the shopping centre and to not worry about doing that again until Ben had left town, unless of course Ben wanted to do that then it was game on, at least this time it would be in a nice room and not the backseat of a car.

Soon Ben shouted up that the food had arrived so Callum climbed out and pulled the plug, letting the hot soapy water drain away. He grabbed a dressing gown off the door and put it on before heading back downstairs, surprised to see a giant burger and plate of chips waiting for him on the table. Ben was already sat down eating his, the hamburger relish squeezing out when he took a bite and landing with a splat on the table. Callum laughed and sat down, picking up his own burger and taking a bite, surprised with how delicious and meaty it was, McDonald’s this wasn’t.

It didn’t take long for them to both finish their food, leaving clear plates for room service to come collect later. Ben stood up and went to the cupboard, grabbing some paracetamol and passing them over to the other man who gratefully took them with the bottle of water Ben had put on the table for him. They both went to put something else on, the pair of them ending up in jogging bottoms and a T-shirt and settled down on the sofa. They didn’t watch a movie though, instead choosing to just watch whatever channel was still on from were Callum had put it on earlier.

“So… what was with the daytime drinking?” Ben asked during an ad break

“Sorry about that, I don’t usually, I’m not a big drinker. Just one of those days I guess”

“Don’t worry about it, I just wanted to make sure you were ok, that you’re happy and it’s not being here with me. I don’t want you to feel trapped and if you want to leave then no hard feelings”

Callum turned to look at him surprised, “Ben no, it’s nothing like that I’m more than happy to stay as agreed. I just… I ran into a client today, while I was shopping. It… it reminded me u’know that this isn’t real, it’s temporary and I’ll be back to my old life in a few days time, it just came as a shock I guess, to be confronted by it unexpectedly”. Callum decided to leave out the part about the blow job, while Ben had told him he didn’t care if he carried on working, he didn’t want to test it.

Ben looked relieved, “phew, so it was nothing I’ve done”

“Of course not, you’ve been great I swear”

Ben nodded “good, cos if there is something I do wrong be sure to tell me, I know I’m paying you and all that but I don’t want you to be unhappy at all”

“I know that, I promise I’d let you know, the same goes for me, if I do something wrong tell me, I’m here for you, to make you happy, if I’m not doing that then tell me… tell me if there’s something you want me to do” Callum said as he put his hand on Ben’s thigh and let it run a little higher up. Ben didn’t react straight away and Callum wondered if this was the moment that something was going to happen but then Ben moved his leg away so Callum’s hand fell off it.

“I… I can’t do that… I just, I haven’t, not since he…”

“No I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have, I just assumed that u’know, you’re paying me to be here, I thought you’d want me to do that”, Callum tried to explain.

“I think I thought that too honestly, but I just miss having someone here, someone to touch or hold”

“I understand, I had a boyfriend… he died a couple of years ago. I was in the army, we were posted in Afghanistan and there was an explosion, I made it out, he didn’t”

“I’m so sorry”, Ben reached out and took Callum’s hand in his, using his thumb to rub reassuringly over the skin. Callum smiled at him and nodded slightly, knowing instantly that he meant it, that he was going through the same pain and loss that he had been through himself. “What was his name?”, Callum smiled and told him it was Chris, the name alone enough to ignite the familiar feeling of happiness whenever he thought about him. The name hung in the air between them, Callum having a moment to remember him as Ben contemplated something before he spoke.

“Paul… he helped me to know who I was, I loved him, more than I ever thought I could. We were… we were walking, holding hands, having fun and messing around, it felt normal it felt safe. But there were these guys, they started on us, calling us fags and queers, I saw red and had a go back. I was stupid, so fucking stupid”, Callum’s stomach clenched, he thought he knew where this was going, “they attacked us, I screamed at Paul to run, I ran and we got separated… I… left him there, he couldn’t run, they’d grabbed him…I….” Ben was having trouble finishing what he was saying but Callum didn’t need him to. He remembered reading about it in the paper, about the gay bashing and murder trial, it was awful and knowing that it was Ben and his boyfriend it happened to was heartbreaking.

“It was my fault… I shouldn’t have argued back, I shouldn’t have left him, he’s dead because of me”. Callum shook his head and took Ben’s face in his hands, “no” he said sternly, making sure Ben was looking at him through tear filled eyes, “that wasn’t your fault, it was those animals. You did nothing wrong”. Ben shook his head, “it doesn’t feel like it”. Callum pulled him into a hug and wrapped his arms around him, “but it’s not, no matter how hard that is to believe”.

They stayed like that for a while on the sofa, Ben in Callum’s arms and allowing himself to be held like he hadn’t been in so long. For his part Callum hadn’t hugged another man like this for a long time either and holding the other man close felt so familiar and reminded him what he’s missed these past couple of years. He stroked Ben’s hair for a moment and then the younger man was moving, pulling back so they were looking at one another, their faces close and something in the air had changed. Callum found himself looking into Ben’s red rimmed eyes and could feel the pull to move forwards and to press their lips together. They were both so lonely and broken, they were the same.

With blue eyes staring into blue eyes time seemed to stand still, the invisible force eventually overcoming him and he began to move forwards, getting closer to Ben’s lips, but then something switched and Ben pulled back and away from him, a look of sadness on his face. He stood up and stepped back away from Callum who was still sitting down on the sofa, confused all of a sudden. He felt it, felt the same need coming from Ben so couldn’t understand why he was now pulling away from him.

“I’m sorry…” Ben started to say, “I shouldn’t have told you all that, you don’t need to feel sorry for me”

“Ben that’s not…”

“Look can we just forget what I said, please?”

Callum wanted to argue, to tell him it was ok but Ben was shutting down before his very eyes and he knew not to push because it wouldn’t help anything. “I’m going to have a whiskey” Ben announced, “do you want one?” Callum shook his head and watched as the other man hurriedly went to the kitchen, opening a cupboard and pulling an expensive looking bottle out. He took the top off and had a slug straight from the bottle, scrunching his eyes shut at the inevitable burn on his throat.

Callum stood up and walked over to him, putting a hand out and stopping Ben from putting the bottle to his lips again, “Ben…” the smaller man looked at him, looking even younger than Callum thought possible, “it’s ok, I can go if it will make it better, or sleep down here if you want”. Ben continued looking at him, his eyes glistening but he shook his head, clearly no matter how he was feeling he really didn’t want to be alone. “Shall we go to bed? Go to sleep? We’ll just hug ok”. The relief washing over Ben’s face made Callum feel relief too, knowing he’d been able to bring him back from the brink. He held his hand out and took Ben’s, leading him up the stairs and to their room, switching everything off on the way.

They climbed into bed together, still wearing their clothes and just lay together, Ben curled even tighter into Callum’s body and the older man’s arms tightly wrapped around him. The blanket of darkness is the room drew them into a sense of comfort and honesty and before they knew it they were telling each other all about their lost loves. How they met, the first time they kissed, what they were like. It felt as though they knew all about each other’s loves, they shared so much, revealing details and secrets that they’d kept to themselves for so long. Being able to feel but not see each other making it so much easier to let out emotions they’d buried for so long.

“I think one of the things that hurt the most was my dad, the way he’d call Paul my ‘friend’, that even in death he was unable to accept who I am and who I loved, he doesn’t treat him like he was important to me, that he was just a mate”. Callum stroked his arm in reassurance, “that’s awful, I’m sorry that he’s like that”. It lead him into telling Ben all about his family, about his dad hitting him when he was drunk, about how he wouldn’t accept a gay son and that he’d done a disappearing act when he was in the army and he didn’t have a clue where he was now.

They were amazed that their lives were so similar, that their dads could easily have been the same person and they both suffered the same violent childhoods with a drunk parent. They had so much to talk about and found it so easy to confide that they were still awake and sharing their deepest secrets when the dark night sky began to give away to the threat of morning. They had talked all night, softly and quietly wrapped in each other’s arms, something neither of them had done before and feeling as though the weight of the world had been lifted from them.

As much as they both wanted to carry on talking sleep began to creep up on them. Callum asked Ben to stay home with him since he wouldn’t be able to work on so little sleep anyway and he agreed, grabbing his phone to send a message to his assistant before settling back into bed. Ben shuffled over and faced away from Callum and the other man followed him automatically, laying up against his back and reaching his arm over, pulling him tightly to him as Ben relaxed into the embrace. Sleep came easy and peacefully to them both and they were able to sleep the morning away together uninterrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I played a bit fast and loose with the timeline of the Ben/Paul and Callum/Chris relationships, but this is my sandbox so... 😂


	6. Chapter 6

Callum woke up after midday, wrapped around Ben’s still sleeping form. The other man looked so peaceful in his slumber, none of the emotional hurt was visible and Callum wished he could take away any pain he felt when he was awake. He could easily stay right here and watch Ben, the moments they shared the previous night made it feel as though they had known each other forever, Callum had told him things he’d never told anyone in his life, not even Whitney and he was feeling an overwhelming sense of attachment and dare he say affection for him.

It was dangerous, Callum knew that. To start to fall for someone who was paying you to be there was beyond stupid. He could leave now and remove himself from the situation but when he thought about not seeing Ben again he felt a twisting in his gut. It had only been a few days and Ben hadn’t given him any real indication that he was feeling the same but still, there was something there he knew it, a mutual feeling between them.

He knew it was going to be tough to bring up, Ben stated at the start that this was a business transaction and that he didn’t want complicated, but that was then, this is now. Callum had never felt as emotionally close to someone before, not even with Chris and he was in love with him. This was all so new and scary and he should run a mile but he couldn’t. Even if he only got to spend another couple of days with the other man then that would have to do.

If at the end of this Ben gave him his money and waved him off with a smile then he knew it was one sided and never meant to be. But what if… what if come Saturday morning Ben couldn’t let him go, that their lives faded into a big romantic epic movie, it could happen. They could be something at the end of the week. Or could they. Ben was rich, he was respectable with a good family and reputation. He was a hooker from a broken and bad home, it wasn’t the stuff of fairytales.

As he was internally struggling with his own thoughts Ben woke up. His eyelashes fluttered open and he turned his head towards Callum with beautiful blue eyes meeting his own. The sleep ruffled man smiled at him and Callum felt his stomach flip. He wanted to lean down and kiss him, kiss him like he hadn’t kissed anyone in so long, his eyes darting from Ben’s eyes to his lips and back again. Before he could do anything though Ben moved away from him, throwing the duvet off and climbing out of bed to wander into the en suite.

Callum laid in bed contemplating what to do. Does he risk bringing it up, asking Ben if there was something there and getting it wrong, surely leading to the other man finishing this here and now or just keep his mouth shut and let it play out however it’s going to play out. He knew the answer really and decided that not mentioning it was for the best, hoping that things were going to resolve themselves over the next days and he wouldn’t need to press the subject.

He climbed out of bed and shouted out to Ben that he was going to go have a bath, jokingly throwing it out there that he was welcome to join him if he wanted to. He headed to the main bathroom, and switched on the taps, filling the bath with bubble bath and loving watching the way the water level and thick foam raised higher and higher on the sides. He found nothing as relaxing as a lovely hot bath and he always felt as though his troubles melted away, especially in this ridiculously oversized tub.

After stripping off and climbing in he relaxed back, spread out his limbs and closed his eyes as the hot water surrounded and comforted him. A knock on the door caused him to snap his eyes open and he said it was ok to enter. Ben slowly pushed the door open and stepped through, looking a little unsure and nervous. He was still wearing the clothes he slept in and he shut the door behind him as he hovered by it.

“You said I could join you so…” Ben said as he pulled at a loose thread on the sleeve of his top, looking as though he was scared Callum would say no.

“Of course” Callum said as moved over a bit to create more space, wanting the other man to know there was more than enough room for the pair of them. Ben let out a breath in relief and started to strip off his clothes, first pulling his top up and over his head, then pulling down his jogging bottoms. He hesitated for a second before he then hooked his thumbs in the top of his boxers and pulled them down too. Callum tried to not look, to give him some privacy but he couldn’t help but look, letting his eyes travel over Ben’s body and feeling something stirring in his own.

Ben looked at him and their eyes connected, the air in the room changed and it suddenly felt very different from what it had been between them up until that point. When Ben stepped closer and climbed into the bath Callum gulped, having a naked Ben so close to him shot straight to his crotch and the affection he felt morphed into lust at a worrying speed. He wanted to reach out and touch him, to pull him close and kiss him. Ben simply moved over to where he was sitting and turned around so he could sit in front of him and leaned up against his chest.

Callum tried to will his growing erection down and angle himself so it was away from where Ben was sat and then wrapped his arms around the younger man, helping him to settle against him. Ben relaxed back and let his back rest against Callum’s chest and his head landed on his shoulder. The older man ran a hand up and down Ben’s arm for a moment before he reached out and grabbed a sponge, using it to wipe and clean over his chest. Ben let out a deep breath and nuzzled his head back more against him.

With Ben in such close quarters he couldn’t help the way his body was responding and soon there was no way Callum could disguise what was clearly going on below the water. It was beginning to dig into Ben’s hip and in response Ben’s hand settled on his thigh and worked its way up until it touched his dick. Callum wrapped his arm around the other man’s chest pulling him tighter to him, pressing his mouth to Ben’s hair and kissing it as Ben’s hand gripped tighter on him and started to move.

It was as though electricity was shooting through his body as Ben’s hand moved, it had been a while since Callum had been touched like this and the way the other man was twisting and changing the grip on him he knew that this wasn’t going to last long. He was right and as Ben’s hand quickened, Callum tried to move his hand to reach down to touch the other man in return but before he could wrap his hand around his dick, Ben’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. He held it so it was away from him and continued to work on Callum as the older man tried to desperately keep his hands to himself.

It took only a minute or two before Callum was coming, Ben’s hand slowing down and working him through the orgasm as he grunted and felt his body shaking at the release. He kissed Ben’s hair again and tried to turn his head so he could reach and kiss his lips but Ben just moved away from him instead, moving over to the other side of the tub and shaking his head slightly. Through the haze in his brain Callum couldn’t quite work out what was happening and tried to move over towards him, to kiss, cuddle or do whatever he could. Ben wasn’t interested though, instead he stood up and climbed out, his erection obvious and pronounced as he reached for a towel and went to open the door, “enjoy the rest of your bath” he said as he walked out the room.

Callum sat in the bath totally confused, why would Ben not let him touch him when he was happy to do that to Callum? He was clearly as turned on as he was and if felt so intimate, it just didn’t make sense. It had been a very long time since Callum was the only one to come in a sexual encounter. In his line of work he never did that and when he chooses to sleep with people it’s a mutual thing, this was very unusual and he just couldn’t work out what was going on in Ben’s mind, maybe it’s because he tried to kiss him. He’d told Callum the first night that he didn’t kiss on the mouth either, maybe that was it. He decided that he’d try and talk to Ben later to try to find out what happened and that he was ok, he just needed to rinse off from his happy ending bath first.

When he returned to the bedroom Ben was already dressed, he was looking casual without his work clothes and looked really good. He smiled as Callum entered the room in a towel and got up to leave, “Ben, are we ok?” Callum said to stop him rushing off, “why wouldn’t we be?” Ben asked genuinely confused by the question. Callum looked at him and decided that maybe pushing this wasn’t a good idea, if Ben wanted to talk about it then he would and he didn’t want to make him uncomfortable so he just shook his head and said it was nothing.

“Do you want to get something to eat and go see a show tonight?” Ben asked just before he was about to leave the room. Callum’s eyes lit up at that, he’d never been to the theatre and Ben still wanted to spend time with him so he was really excited by the invitation. “I’d love to”, Ben smiled in response and ducked his head down, mumbling that he would go and get something booked. Once alone in the room Callum got himself dressed in some of the new clothes he’d bought, he thought he looked pretty good in the new outfit and when he walked downstairs to join Ben the other man looked him over appreciatively.

“I thought we’d go see a musical if that’s ok, I got us a box” Ben said as he got closer to him, Callum smiled and said that would be great. They decided to get ready to leave sooner rather than later, spend some leisurely time going to get something to eat, maybe have a couple of drinks and then head to the theatre. They went downstairs to the lobby together, both looking smart but casual and very handsome, it felt like a date to Callum but he didn’t want to say that out loud. As they walked through the lobby Gloria was on duty, when she spotted them she had a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth with Callum looking at lot more appropriately dressed now.

When they got outside there was an expensive car with a chauffeur waiting for them, “I thought it would be nice to be able to have a drink” Ben explained, clearly never having heard of a taxi before but Callum didn’t mind really, especially when a man rushed around to open the door for him to get in the car. The inside was all leather and there was a console in the middle with a bottle of champagne, Ben noticed him looking at it and said they could crack it open if he wanted or else there were bottles of water too. Callum went for a bottle of water, knowing his own limitations when it comes to alcohol and not wanting to ruin the night before it had even started.

They chatted easily as they were driven through the city, Callum didn’t know where they were headed but he was more than happy to let Ben take charge and lead the way, he knew this world a lot better than he ever could. They pulled up outside a nice looking restaurant and Callum was worried it was going to be too posh, Ben just reached out and squeezed his hand though before he went to get out, reassuring him that it was ok. Once inside Ben was right, it looked expensive and out of his league from the outside but inside was a lot more relaxed and chilled than he thought it would be. “I don’t like stuffy places either” Ben whispered as the waiter lead them to a booth in the corner.

The menu was expensive but it was food Callum could pronounce and he understood what it was. It might not be posh but it was still way more money than he would ever consider spending on a meal, Ben wasn’t bothered though, just pointing out the stuff he’d had before and was recommending the £100 steak dinner to him. He decided to go on Ben’s suggestion and let the other man order for him as well as ordering a bottle for them.

They carried on talking, the conversation flowing well while they waited for the food to arrive, each time they caught each other’s eyes they both seemed to blush, coming over coy and shy with one another. Callum was even more sure that there was something growing between them and when he reached his hand out to place on top of Ben’s which was sitting on the table the other man didn’t pull away, he just smiled and chewed on his lip.

When the food arrived they tucked in, Ben was right, the steak was amazing and was probably the best thing Callum had ever eaten in his life. Ben offered him a second glass of champagne while they were eating which he declined until the other man assured him he had specifically chosen a low alcohol bottle because he was such a lightweight. He laughed at that and accepted a second drink when he saw the label did indeed show the low alcohol content, thinking how thoughtful it was that Ben chose it for them. He polished off his dinner and when he was offered dessert he went for a cheesecake, finishing that off as Ben asked for the bill and paid.

Time was moving on by now so they decided to go to a cocktail bar, once there he was presented with a menu for mocktails, Ben clearly wanting him to be as comfortable and happy as possible by not attempting to ply him switch alcohol. He chose a nice sounding drink first and drank it, choosing something with alcohol for his second choice. He felt safe with Ben and although he intended to just have one he knew that if he were to end up a little merry, Ben would take care of him. Just like the rest of the evening it felt right between them and they sat next to each other on a bench, their legs touching and Ben’s hand on Callum’s knee.

Before they knew it it was time to head to the theatre, it was a short walk from the cocktail bar and Ben let the driver know to come and pick them up afterwards, they’d make their own way there. Callum reached out to take Ben’s hand as they walked along the street and the other man let him take it, their fingers threading together and fitting perfectly as they headed towards the theatre. The outside was bright and colourful, and there seemed to be thousands of people milling about, the whole area around them buzzing with anticipation. Callum had never felt anything like it in his life, and the excitement was building as they walked through the foyer area and were lead to their exclusive box.

It seemed huge and it was just for them, a bottle of drink was cooling in an ice bucket and a table had food laid out on it. As he walked to the edge of the box to look over at the stage and auditorium Callum was amazed by the opulent surroundings. “Amazing isn’t it” Ben whispered into his ear as he put a hand on his back, “the theatre is incredible, sitting here and watching different stories, taking you out of real life…” Callum looked at him and nodded, “let’s take our seats, it’s about to start”. They sat down and as the curtain raised Callum’s eyes opened up wide in amazement, taking in every single detail of the colourful and elaborate costumes. He reached out and took Ben’s hand, holding on tight as the musical played out before them.

They sat holding hands through the whole of the first act and when the curtain dropped for the interval Callum turned to Ben with a massive smile on his face, “you’re enjoying it then?” Ben asked and then Callum proceeded to talk nine to the dozen about what they’d just seen, stopping long enough to eat something from the table before going back to talking. Ben looked at him with a fond smile, pleased that he seemed to be as big a fan of the show as he is. As the alarm sounded to warn them the second act was due to start they settled back down, Callum retaking Ben’s hand to hold.

When it finished Callum was the first on his feet, clapping and whooping loudly and showing this appreciation to the actors. Ben made sure to buy a programme on the way out and handed it to Callum as they left the theatre and got into their waiting car, he thumbed through it as they set off back to the hotel and talked some more about how much he loved it, “I had a really nice time tonight Ben, thank you” Callum said honestly, it was probably the best date he’d ever had and he felt as though he could relive the whole night again, “you’re welcome” Ben told him, pleased to have popped the other man’s musical virginity, he’d had the best time as well, really enjoying the other man’s company and loving that he seemingly felt the same way about the theatre as him.

They sat close in the back of the car as they travelled back to the hotel, their legs and sides pressed up against one another and Ben leaned his head on Callum’s shoulder, his eyes feeling heavy with the soft movements of the car. He dropped off and when they arrived Callum stroked his cheek gently to wake him up, “c’mon sleepy head, lets get to bed” he said as the door was opened for him and he stepped out, Ben following out of the other side of the car. They walked across the lobby holding hands again and went to the lift, travelling up to their floor feeling happy.

When they got through the door they stood for a moment and looked at each other, Callum couldn’t drag his eyes away from Ben’s lips and all he wanted to do was to lean down and kiss them. An invisible force was pulling him towards the other man, his head tilting down as Ben looked to be responding, his head tilted up so the angle was perfect. Callum was so close he could smell the aftershave of the shorter man, the smell reassuring and familiar to him now. The sparks were flying around them as they got closer and they were now so close that there was just the tiniest bit of air between them.

As Callum was about to move forwards to close the final gap Ben closed his eyes and he was so ready for his, he was a millisecond away from their lips touching, the electricity dancing between them but then his mobile phone rang loudly, causing Ben to move back, the sound piercing through the calm quiet and shocking them both back to the here and now. Callum apologised as he reached into his pocket to retrieve it, intending to cancel the call but when he saw it was Whitney he knew he had to answer it. He apologised again as he turned and walked away from Ben and pressed answer to say hello to his best friend.

Ben didn’t know what they were talking about but he could tell that there was something wrong, Callum suddenly got very tense and started to pace around the room. When he hung up he turned back to Ben clearly distraught, “hey what’s wrong?” Ben stepped toward him, reaching a hand out to touch him on the arm. “It’s my best friend, she’s been attacked, I have to go to her”. Callum was panicked, looking around for things he needed to pick up to go but realising that he only needed his phone.

“I’ll call down to the car, it will take you wherever you need to go, it’s going to be ok Callum”. The taller man just looked at him with tears forming in his eyes and all he could do was nod. He looked at Ben for a moment, wanting to stay here with him but knowing he had to go so he reached out to touch Ben’s cheek and told him “I’ll be in touch” before he walked to the door and opened it, looking back to Ben before stepping through and closing it behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

When Callum got to the hospital he managed to find Whitney easily in A&E, she was sat in a chair holding some gauze to her face and spotted him when he walked in. He rushed over to where she sat and and put his arm around gently, aware that she could be badly hurt and not wanting to hurt her any further. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes, feeling a lot better now that her best friend had arrived.

“What happened Whit?”

“John got a bit rough, it’s nothing”

Callum pulled back and moved round in his chair so he could look at her properly, she had blood pouring out of a cut next to her eye and a bruise was already starting to darken the skin. He swallowed and had to ask “he didn’t….”, Whitney shook her head, “Nah, I kicked him the balls before he could do more than thump me”. Callum let out a deep breath in relief, “where was Ruby?”, Whitney looked a bit guilty then and he knew that she must have gone out alone tonight. He took her hand in his and felt the tears prickling, “I’m so sorry Whit, I abandoned you. You needed me and I wasn’t there for you. I promise I’ll never leave you again, I swear”. She just smiled and nodded at him, turning in her chair so she could lean up against him.

They waited for a while until the doctor called her name out, he said he’d sit and wait for her while she was getting checked out and waved her goodbye as he disappeared behind some double doors. He felt awful, the guilt hanging heavy in his heart. His best friend in the world was hurt and was in danger because he had fucked off and left her alone. He’d not been home in days and to his shame he hadn’t been in contact as much as he should have. She saved his life when he came home from the army and this is how he is repaying her.

While she was being attacked and having to fend off a man by herself he was making love eyes at Ben, someone who saw him as an employee and was paying him for the week and then disappearing at the end of it. He was an idiot, what was he thinking! Whatever he did or didn’t think he was feeling for the other man it wasn’t real, the life he was living with Ben was temporary, it was fake and ridiculous, he was ridiculous for thinking it could be anything more than a transaction. Ben would never feel anything for him, he was a hooker for fucks sake. He’d managed to pretend in his own mind it was something it wasn’t and in doing so he let his best friend down.

Callum took out his phone and opened his contacts list, scrolling down to Ben’s name and letting his thumb hover over it for a moment. He knew what he had to do but he didn’t want to do it. He needed to be with Whit and he needed to end this thing with Ben, money be damned. He couldn’t risk his best friend getting hurt again and he couldn’t face losing her. Decision made he pressed on the dial button and put the phone to his ear as it started to ring.

His tummy flipped when he heard Ben’s voice answer and he nearly changed his mind, his heart telling him to say he’d be home soon. But it wasn’t home, it was a hotel room with a man he’d known for a few days who was paying him to be there. Home was Whitney, the two of them in their one bed flat, on the sofa eating crap before heading off to work, together. “Callum?” Ben’s voice drifted out of the phone.

“I’m sorry Ben, I’m going to have to end this. Whitney… she needs me, I have to be there for her”

“I… I understand”, Ben sounded resigned, like he was expecting it, “it was only ever going to be for a few days anyway. I hope your friend is ok”

“She will be, I’ll make sure of it… my things?”

“I can get them brought to you if you text me an address”

“Thanks… I… Ben…”

“Don’t worry. Take care Callum” and then the line went dead, the younger man had hung up and Callum felt so alone all of a sudden. He’d had the most perfect day up until then and now it felt as though his world was ending. The thought of never seeing Ben again was making his heart hurt far more than he imagined and he cursed ever meeting the other man. He was better off before, better having never met him. To start to feel something and to lose it hurt too much, thinking of Ben alone in that room made him want to rush there but he couldn’t. He needed to stay here, get back to real life.

Looking at the phone in his hand he sent a text to Ben, his address and ending it with an “I’m sorry”. He could see that it had been read but Ben didn’t send a reply and Callum felt a single tear slip down his cheek. Just then a doctor came out to get him, letting him know that it was ok to go in and see Whitney. He stood up and put his phone in his pocket before following the doctor through the doors, finding Whit sat on a bed with a few stitches in her face. She smiled at him with her mega watt smile and he smiled back.

Later when they got home he insisted that she got in the shower, wash the stench of the hospital and the night off of her. She was resistant but he made her anyway, phoning down to the Chinese for their favourite food while she was otherwise engaged. By the time she’d got out and put some clothes back on the doorbell went to alert them to the fact the food had arrived. They did what they usually did, laying it all out on the coffee table in front of the sofa and picking at it rather than dishing it out. Snuggling together on the sofa was normal, this is how they would wind down after a night working , freshly showered and eating junk food.

When it was time for bed they climbed in together, Callum laying on his back with Whitney curling into his side. He held her close to him and thanked a god he didn’t believe in that she was ok, tonight could have easily been so much worse and he is terrified of what could have happened. What if she hadn’t been able to fight him off, this was a dangerous profession and she could have been hurt and left for dead without him even realising because he’d disappeared on her. He hugged her tighter and didn’t let go, even when they fell asleep.

Callum woke up in the morning and for a moment had forgotten what had happened the night before. He could feel a body pressed up against his and he thought it was Ben but when he ran a hand down the back he was brought back to the here and now by how wrong and different the body felt. He opened his eyes and saw a mass of black hair and knew he was home with Whitney. He didn’t want to feel the disappointment of being here but he did and he felt instantly guilty that Whitney wasn’t Ben.

He laid there for a while, Whitney was still asleep and he didn’t want to wake her, she’d been through a lot the night before and needed the rest. He just wanted to be alone for a while longer, scared that when she woke up she’d ask him about Ben, about what had happened and how it was. He didn’t want to talk about it, to risk her finding out that he had started to fall for him, rule number one of their job was to not develop feelings and she’d be angry that he was stupid enough to let that happen. He really hoped that he wouldn’t have to have the conversation with her, at least not until he was able to talk about it without it hurting so much.

After Chris he didn’t believe it would be possible to feel for anyone again, certainly not so fast. He had been so heartbroken when his lover died, it felt as though he’d died a little bit himself and he was scared to ever open up again. Ben was never the plan, he was a punter, he was meant to be a quick fuck and pay check, never to be seen again. But he’d worked his way into Callum’s heart before he even realised it, the attraction growing from the first time he saw him and affection developing as they spent that night talking.

He felt his eyes stinging imagining never seeing him again and then told himself off for being so stupid, he’d only known him for three nights for fucks sake, it was ridiculous. To think you could fall for someone so fast, to fall for someone you’d never even kissed and all you shared was a hand job which wasn’t even reciprocated. He told himself he was just swept up with the idea of Ben rather than Ben himself, the rich man and nice life, being away from this place and his job. That’s what he was going to miss, not the beautiful blue eyes and soft look Ben had when he woke up in the morning.

Luckily before he could torture himself even more Whitney began to wake up, smiling at him as she opened her eyes and saw that he was really home, “I’m so glad you’re back”, “yeah me too” he said, really wanting to mean it. “I’ve missed this, I’d forgotten how lonely this bed is when you’re alone”, Callum hugged her closer to him and kissed her on the top of the head, “I know what you mean”.

They stayed in bed for a while, with the tv turned on in the background with the morning news playing away it itself. “I wish we could stay here like this forever, just us against the world” Whitney said after a while, and a week ago Callum would have agreed, Whitney was all he needed, now though… he didn’t want to admit the truth so he just agreed, “it’s where we’re meant to be Whit”.

Eventually they decided they needed to move, the morning was dragging on and both were feeling hungry. It was only when they were up and out of bed that Callum discovered there was no milk nor bread in the flat. It was usually him that kept on top of picking up bits and pieces in the week so clearly Whit had let everything run down in his absence. He threw some clothes on and said that he’d pop down to the shop to get what they needed, the convenience store next to the Chinese always had the essentials and they ended up shopping in there more than bothering with a supermarket.

He walked into the shop and went to where the bread was kept, picking up a loaf and then heading back down the chilled section to grab a pint of milk. The guy behind the till was someone he always stopped and had a chat with when he saw him and it had been a good couple of weeks since they last saw each other. They started to talk and catch up, him enquiring after the man’s wife and being asked about Whitney in return. Before he knew it twenty minutes had passed and he said he needed to get back, the shopkeeper said to pass his good wishes onto Whitney and he paid and thanked him as he left.

When he walked back out onto the street he noticed an expensive car pulling away, it wasn’t the one Ben was driving when he first met him but it still made his heart start to beat faster, what if Ben was inside it. He very nearly started to chase after it, wanting to see Ben one last time but it was gone before he could even start to move. He comforted himself that it probably wasn’t him anyway and went to walk back around the back of the shops to his door.

He got back up to the flat and opened the door, inside was a suitcase that wasn’t his. It was clearly a designer case though, worth more than anything in the flat and Whit came walking towards him as he put the stuff on the side and went to the case. “Some guy just dropped it off for ya”, “what did he look like?” Callum’s heart began to race imagining Ben here, seeing where he lived. “Dunno some old dude in a hat”. Callum breathed out in relief that it was a driver and not Ben, he didn’t know how he would have felt to have been so close to him but not been able to see him. 

When he opened up the case it was his stuff, neatly folded and packed away. All the new clothes he’d bought, still with their tags on, the leather trousers he bought for work and the never worn boots. He wondered if Ben had packed it for him or got someone else to do it, had he sent someone out to buy a case for him as well? As he started to take his clothes out he found the programme from the theatre the previous night and inside was a note. He didn’t want to open and read it in front of Whitney though, it was private and something he needed to read alone.

Folded up in a pair of trousers was an envelope, it was fat and thick and Callum wondered what the hell was in it. He opened it up and his mouth dropped open, it was full of £50 notes, a whole wad of them and when he’d counted them out it was the rest of the £10,000 that Ben said he’d pay him to stay the week. Whitney snatched it out of his hand and screamed, waving the £7500 around in the air as she jumped up and down. Callum wanted to join her in her excitement but his guts were twisting up thinking of Ben counting out the money, that this truly was a transaction after all.

It was nice that he gave him the full amount though, Callum had broken the deal and left two days early, he wasn’t expecting anything at all. At least something good came out of this, even if he now felt like crap. He smiled at Whitney’s good mood and picked up the case to take into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him as Whit continued to dance around the living room. He sat on the bed and took the note out, he didn’t know what to expect, what Ben could have written. Was it going to be a basic, ‘here’s your stuff’ note or would it contain something a bit more personal. He was almost afraid to open it to read, this could be the last thing he ever has to do with the man.

He unfolded the paper and smoothed it out on his lap, it wasn’t long but was neatly written.

‘ _Callum, thank you for spending time with me, these last few days have been some of the best I’ve had in a long time. I hope that Whitney is OK and that you find happiness in whatever it is you end up doing. I hope this money goes some way to helping you to fulfil your dreams. Take care, Ben x’_

Callum’s heart twisted with the kiss at the end. Was it intended or was it just something he wrote unconsciously, did he really mean to write it? He didn’t know if he felt better or worse now he’d read it and maybe it would have been better if he’d just said to keep his stuff and not give him an address to drop it off to him. Now he had this to torture himself with, thinking of Ben sitting there and writing it and trying to imagine what he was thinking or feeling as he did so.

This was so much worse than he thought it would be, never thinking he’d feel like this after such a short amount of time. He knew one thing, he was never going to let himself get into a situation like this again. All he was doing from now on was what he used to do, 2 things on the menu and that was it. No more all night or all week, not that was ever likely to happen to him again, not unless another lonely, beautiful rich man happened to drive along lost.

There was a tap at the door and Whitney walked in wanting to check that he was ok. He assured her he was as he sat there holding the note in his hand. She came and sat next to him, pointed at the note and waited to see if Callum wanted her to read it. He held it out for her to take and she read through it, looking at him and putting her arm around his shoulders. “He seems nice”, Callum just nodded in response, feeling his eyes starting to water slightly, “Callum, did you? Are you? Have you caught the feels?”

He could ty to deny it but he knew she’d see straight through it so just nodded, she gave him a hug and told him he was an idiot, never fall for a John, it was basic stuff. He buried his head in her shoulder, letting him hold her while he tried his hardest not to cry. After a while he sat back and looked at his best friend, “do you think he feels anything?” He shook his head at that, “he pulled away when I tried to kiss him”, Whitney’s brow furrowed and she sighed, not happy that he’d broken so many of the rules they had to protect themselves.

“Look, you just need to forget about him yeah, you caught the feels, it was a mistake, move on. Let’s take a few nights off, I ain’t getting no work looking like this and you could do with a night in a pub on the pull. You ain’t got laid in ages”

Callum tried to smile, maybe taking his mind off Ben with a one night stand would help and she was right, he hadn’t hooked up with a man in months, discounting the hand job from Ben. He agreed that yeah, they should take some time off and try to have a good time that night. Maybe going out for a blow out would be good for him, take his mind off a certain bloke who he was most likely never going to see again. They spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in the flat, watching crap daytime tele and stuffing themselves full of snacks.

As the afternoon turned into evening Whitney grabbed a bottle of tequila for them to start on as they were getting ready to go out. Callum tried to say no but she was very insistent, telling him he needed to let loose and not be so uptight, in the end he agreed to one which he spat out while her back was turned, none the wiser. She was merry by the time they were ready to leave and he was glad he’d faked the shot so he could look out for her if she was planning on getting hammered. He didn’t blame her really, she’d had a bad night and wanted to let off steam, he would just need to keep an eye on her.

When they got to the pub Callum went to the bar, choosing something with barely any alcohol in for him and a cocktail for Whit. He didn’t let her buy a drink all night and when he thought she’d had enough he switched her to soft drinks and she didn’t even notice. She was having fun, dancing with some girls she’d just met when a guy went up to Callum to ask if he wanted to dance too. He turned to look at him and he was handsome, longish hair, green eyes and full kissable lips. He hesitated for a moment, not sure he wanted to do anything but then he remembered that this was the whole point of tonight, to go out and have fun. He let the guy lead the way.

He ended up kissing the bloke on the dance floor, hands roaming over each other’s bodies and they made their way the toilets, the guy dropping to his knees in a toilet stall as Callum leaned his head back against the wall, trying to let his mind clear. He couldn’t though, all he could think about was Ben, Ben’s face, Ben’s lips, Ben’s eyes. As lips closed in around him he remembered what Ben’s hand felt like wrapped around him, what it was like to hold him in his arms. He pushed the guy away and apologised that he wasn’t feeling well. He felt a bit bad but the other man just shrugged his shoulders and said it was his loss as he let himself out of the stall leaving Callum alone.

He gave himself a minute to calm down, his erection disappearing easily and he pushed off the wall, heading back out into the pub to look for Whitney. She was still dancing and he was glad that at least one of them were having a good time. He went to join her, deciding to just try and have a bit of fun with his best friend instead. When she saw him next to her she screamed and threw her arms around him, excited he was there and he let her excitement cheer him up too. They ended up having a great time and by the time they rolled home a couple of hours later, a little bit merry, Callum was feeling a lot better about everything.

Falling into bed at gone 2 in the morning it felt normal, this was his life and he was happy. He didn’t need Ben Mitchell, not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, there wasn’t really any Ben in this chapter 🙈.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt bad that the last chapter had no Ben really, so I thought I’d post the next chapter quickly.

Over the next week things seemed to return to normal. The bruise on Whitney’s face faded and Callum tried to think less about the previous week he’d spent with Ben. He still had moments where he wondered what he was doing, and he had to stop himself from calling him once or twice, but he reasoned with himself that if Ben had wanted to hear from him, he’d have contacted him first. Callum’s phone never rang though and he didn’t have any texts. He knew it was all one sided and he shouldn’t have been surprised, what was a guy like Ben going to see in him anyway.

Ten days after Whitney was attacked they decided to go back to work again, they’d taken the time off, using the money from Ben as a safety net to not have to get straight back out there and have a little time out. It was nice, just being able to go out during the days and know that come the evening they could relax at home and not have to go out in the cold. They’d even looked into college courses, researching how best to move forwards with the careers they both wanted to pursue. Callum found the perfect catering course, due to start in a month, even going so far as to paying the deposit for it.

But with the money from Ben beginning to be spent it was important they got back to work, the courses would end up costing a lot in the long run and they still had rent to pay and needed money to live. They decided it was best to go out on what was usually a relatively quiet night for them, not wanting to throw themselves in at the deep end too quickly. This was the longest either one of them had gone without doing their job in a long time and neither fancied an endless supply of Johns the first night back.

Callum was getting ready for work in the bedroom, he’d already had a shower and was taking the tags off the new clothes he’d bought and Ben had sent over for him. He’d put them aside until he needed them again and as he picked up the leather trousers and held them in front of him he sighed. Back at it again he thought to himself. As he pulled them up his legs he felt himself getting back into the mindset, his clothes a uniform and armour in one. With his trousers done up, his vest on and boots in place he was ready. He felt like his old self again and could almost pretend that the last couple of weeks hadn’t happened.

When he walked out of the bedroom Whitney was already ready, similarly dressed to him and ready to go with big smile in place, hair pulled back in a pony tail and big hoop earrings. They grabbed their jackets and headed off, walking together to their usual spot and finding it was just how it was the last time either of them were there.

For a Tuesday it was busier than either of them were expecting, almost as if clients were waiting for them to return, and Whitney was the first to get some business. She hesitated slightly and touched the small still healing scar on her face and then stood up tall and walked over to the car. Callum watched from afar to make sure she was ok and when she realised it was a regular in a new car she gave him a thumbs up and climbed in. They drove off to somewhere a bit more secluded and were back within fifteen minutes, Whitney climbing out holding some cash with a smile of relief on her face.

“Good to get back on the horse so to speak?” Callum asked her and she just laughed, folding the money up and slipping it in the side of her thigh high boots. “Your turn next eh” she said as she pointed out a car that had just stopped, instantly recognising that it was one of Callum’s clients. He looked to where she was pointing and rolled his eyes, telling her he’d be back soon as he started to walk towards it, hips swaying and mask firmly in place.

When he got to the car he bent over to look in the wound down window, “alright Jase, what you looking for tonight?” The guy just held up £50 and Callum smiled, heading around the other side of the car to climb into the passenger seat. It flashed through his mind that the last time he did this it was Ben’s car he was climbing into, the promise of a £50 note and a ride in a nice car a lot more attractive than this old banger and blow job. But once he’d got to work and earned his money it felt like he’d never been away. The guy came pretty fast thanks to Callum’s skills and he was back with Whitney in double quick time waiting for another customer. It felt familiar and memories began to fade, the here and now taking over.

They ended up making a couple of hundred that night and both feeling comfortable and at ease at being back out there, when it hit 11pm they decided to call it a night, they’d had more customers than they usually would and Callum was back to feeling like his old self. The confidence he had as he walked to the cars in his work clothes shone through and he could pretend to be someone else entirely while he was working. Him and Whitney could keep doing this to help pay for college and rent too, just like they’d been planning for ages. It was all working out perfectly.

Back at the flat they took turns in the shower before settling down on the sofa with a takeaway. This was real life and Callum was actually glad to be back to the normality of it, just him and Whit against the world. When they’d wound down from the evening they headed to bed, falling asleep easily with the familiarity of home.

It continued like that for a couple of weeks, working together, living together and looking forward to the future. It took a little while but Whitney eventually found the ideal course for her to take at college too, Callum happily handing over some of the money he’d got from Ben for her to pay towards the fees. His own catering course was due to start soon and he was beginning to get nervous. In the army it was a very basic set of recipes he had to cook, he was worried that when push came to shove he wasn’t going to be able to keep up with anything a bit more exotic and that he’d made a huge mistake.

Whitney reassured him though, reminding him that although they had takeaway way more than they should, she loved it most when he did them something, telling him he was a brilliant cook. He smiled at that and felt instantly better, she would never lie to him and if she thought he could do it then he started to believe it too. Maybe he could do this, maybe in a years time he could be working in a kitchen somewhere, Whitney would be designing clothes and they’d be earning their money doing that instead of standing on a street corner.

The first day of Callum’s course arrived a lot quicker than he thought it would and as he caught the bus to go in he was feeling very nervous. He needn’t have worried though as it went great and he enjoyed every minute. The teacher was encouraging, the recipes seemed achievable and the other students were welcoming. He found he had a bit in common with one particular guy, Tom, who like Callum had been in the same branch of the army as him. He hadn’t had quite the same experience though, Tom having left when his time was up rather than through injury or illness.

They got on really well and as the days passed Callum found himself growing closer to him, and a couple of weeks into the course Tom asked him out. He didn’t know what to say, he hadn’t been asked on a date in so long. The few time’s he’d ‘dated’ in the last year were people who knew him already, people who knew about his profession and it was generally just a chance at a hook up for them both. Tom didn’t know that in the evenings Callum was hanging out on street corners trading sexual favours for money and he doubted he’d have asked him out if he did know. All he could answer was ‘maybe’, giving a non-committal answer.

That night he went home and told Whitney and she informed him he was an idiot and why the hell didn’t he say yes. “Is he nice?” Callum nodded, “cute?” Another nod, “so what’s the problem?” Callum bit his lip for a moment then told Whit that he was worried about his reaction to finding out he was a prostitute, she took his hand in hers and told him to not worry about something that hasn’t happened yet. Have a date, it’s not marriage, go and have a bit of fun. He doesn’t need to know what he does for a living, maybe if he proposed Callum might need to disclose it, but for now, just have a good time. In the end Callum figured she was right, he didn’t need to tell Tom every little thing about him right now.

The next day when he went into class Tom was there, smiling at him and making Callum want to say yes to a date, so he did. He spent the rest of the class that day daydreaming about going out, especially when the other man said that he’d pick him up and organise something. It was exciting and there was only a tiny bit of his mind that tried to remind him about his last ‘date’, the dinner drinks and theatre. The date was arranged for the next evening, Callum texting Whitney to let her know that they would have to take the night off work, she rang him and squealed down the phone at him, excited for her best friend. He and Tom spent the rest of the day giving each other little looks and not paying attention to the teacher.

Callum spent ages getting ready on the day, looking through his clothes and trying to pick something that was smart and not too much. He had no idea where they were going or what they were doing so didn’t know what outfit was best. In the end he went for smart casual, the same type of outfit he wore when he went out with Ben, there was still a nice shirt he’d not worn so he grabbed that out of the wardrobe and put it on. As he was admiring himself in the mirror Whitney walked in, “I would” she joked when she saw him checking himself out. He just looked towards her and laughed, “I know”.

Tom turned up right on time, they went and had dinner together and spent the evening talking. When the other man asked Callum what job he’d been doing since he was discharged from the army he changed the subject, not really wanting to drop that on him on a first date. The fact he was considering this a first date was positive, he could see them going out again easily. After they ate Tom drove him home, pulling up outside the row of shops and switching the engine off to turn and look at him. Callum felt his tummy flip slightly, part of him wanted to invite him up but with Whit up there it would be a little awkward. Instead he leaned forwards and Tom did the same, their lips meeting in a chaste kiss.

It was nice, it wasn’t fireworks but that didn’t matter, it was possibly just the first of many. Getting into something here in the car wasn’t what he wanted, he saw enough action in that location that he wouldn’t want his personal relationships to mirror his professional ones. He smiled at the other man and thanked him for a lovely evening, going to get out the car Tom stopped him with a hand gently on his knee. “Can we do this again?” He asked hopefully, “yeah I’d love to” Callum replied with a smile.

When he got upstairs Whitney was waiting for him wanting to hear all about it. Where did they go, what did they do, did he get laid, is he seeing him again… Callum just rolled his eyes and said he had a lovely evening, they had a little kiss and yes he was planning on going out with him again. She reached out and squeezed his hand, “I’m glad, you deserve a bit of happiness”, said with genuine smile. When they went to bed that night Callum felt happier than he’d been in a long time. He was training for a new job, met a nice new man and his life seemed to be on the up.

Two nights later he and Whit were out working again, Callum had had one customer but it was a slow night, Whitney seemed to be doing better though so it seemed there were just more punters of a certain persuasion out and about tonight. He was considering packing up and going home, he was getting a bit chilly with standing around so much and Whit was in and out of cars more often so wasn’t getting as cold as him. He didn’t want to leave her though after the last time so he braved the cold and stayed sitting on the wall while she wondered up to yet another car, keeping an eye on her.

She looked back towards him though and whistled over, pointing out that she wasn’t what he was looking for. Callum perked up then, the possibility of being able to climb into a warm car was very appealing right now vs the wall seemingly made of ice. As he got closer he saw it was a nice motor too, expensive looking and he hoped it had heated seats, his bum was frozen and if this guy wanted to be using it it needed warming up first.

Whit moved aside and went to stand back over at the wall as Callum walked over, getting up close to the window and leaning down to talk to the customer. He was frozen to the spot when blue eyes turned to look at him and Ben nervously said “I’m a bit lost”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I especially thought I should post quickly cos there was barely any Ben in this one either 😂.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the last 2 Benless chapters, he’s back!

Callum’s stomach did a somersault being face to face with Ben again. It had been nearly two months since the last time he saw him and in that time he’d been able to convince himself that he didn’t care and was over whatever it was he might have felt. The way he suddenly felt nervous and his heart began to race he knew he was wrong.

Ben looked good, really good, Callum had almost forgotten how attractive he was in amongst the weeks of pretending he didn’t fancy him anymore, but being confronted with him now, his body betrayed his mind at trying to convince himself otherwise. He longed to reach out and touch him, his fingers itching, missing the familiar feel of his skin under them. 

It felt like he’d been stood there for ages looking at him, taking in his features and the small smile he had on his face but in reality it was only a few moments. He managed to kickstart his mouth into action and speak. “Lucky you for I’m a walking sat nav then” he stated as Ben laughed, he looked beautiful when he laughed and Callum kicked himself for thinking it.

“Where do you need to go this time?”

“The same hotel, I just really suck with directions”

“Yeah I can tell… maybe you should invest in a new device or something, it will be cheaper in the long run than paying me to point you in the right direction”

“I’ll bear that in mind” Ben smiled and damn, Callum was hooked back in again. He signalled to Whitney that he’d be back soon and went around to the other side of the car to climb in. He purposely didn’t tell her who it was, not wanting her to put her foot down and convince him to not get in the car. He knew she would be right, that doing this was a big mistake really, but he couldn’t help himself, he wanted to go with him.

When he climbed in his arse was instantly surrounded by warmth, the car seat was heated just like he hoped it would be, “thank fuck for that, I was getting really cold… you gonna warm me up?” Callum couldn’t help but put on the sales pitch, a force of habit and he cringed slightly, this isn’t a normal John, this is Ben. The other man just laughed though and ducked his head down before he looked back up and Callum could see a little sparkle in his eye.

Ben started to drive and Callum looked around the car, noticing that there was a built in sat nav which was working perfectly fine, “ahem” he coughed as he pointed towards it. Ben just shrugged his shoulders and had a ‘whoopsie’ expression on his face, clearly not that bothered at being caught out. When they were a little bit away from where he picked Callum up, Ben pulled over to the side of the road and switched the engine off.

Callum’s heart started to race a little bit, it wasn’t as secluded here as the places he was usually taken but he was willing to give it a go if the other man was happy. He was tempted to reach out and grab Ben’s knee, to just climb into his lap and not wait for him to make a move but he didn’t. They hadn’t done anything like this before and as much as he wanted something to happen, Ben was in the drivers seat, like literally.

“I thought it’d be a good idea to talk first before I drive anywhere else”

“Ok”

“I… I’m back in town on business, only for a couple of nights this time. But I was wondering if you’re free to maybe… u’know get together again”

“You mean stay with you?”

“I… erm…yeah”

Callum knew he should say no, that this was a bad idea, but Ben came and found him again and he wondered what that meant, could it mean more than just finding a hooker who was easy on the eye and was decent company to be around. Could he have missed him at all? But then if he did why hadn’t he been in contact with him, he has his phone number and his address so if he wanted to contact him he could have. He was so busy internally trying to decide what to do that he had totally missed that Ben was talking to him. “Sorry can you say that again?”

“If you want to… I just find the hotel really cold without someone else there”

Callum considered it for a moment, half tempted to say no to prevent any possible pain when it came to an end but ultimately he was desperate to spend time with him again, he’d missed him. He’d tried to distract himself with work and college but as hard as he tried he still found his mind wandering back to Ben. He remembered how it felt to hold him at night, the twinkle in his eyes or the cheeky grin he’d give him unaware he was even doing it. He knew full well it wasn’t even an option to say no, he was always going to say yes.

“I can stay for a couple of nights, but I have college during the day, just a few hours but I can’t miss it”

“Your catering course?” Ben asked excited, his face open and happy, “you started to train as a chef, that’s amazing, I’m so pleased for you”

Ben was so enthusiastic that Callum blushed. The last time they’ve been together he’d told the other man his dreams of working in a kitchen one day, wanting a career and a ‘proper job’, Ben hadn’t laughed at him or rolled his eyes but instead said he was sure he’d get there someday. With the money from Ben he’d been able to get there a lot quicker than he would have been able to otherwise.

“Yeah, it’s still new and I’ve only just started, but I’m really loving it”

“That’s so great” Ben said as he reached out to take Callum’s hand, the spark shot through Callum’s whole body and took his breath away for a moment. He remembered how to breathe and smiled but needed to try and break the spell in the car, the way Ben was touching his hand and looking at him, he wanted to lean over and kiss him. He could feel himself leaning forwards slightly but caught himself and sat back, removing himself from Ben’s orbit temporarily.

“So yeah, I can stay with you but you need to take me back so I can let Whit know, she’ll be pissed off if I just disappear on her”

“That’s fine yeah, do you need to pick up some stuff?”

“I probably should”

“I can take you if you want, back to your flat?”

“Nah, I’ll head home with Whit, make sure she gets back ok and I’ll meet you at the hotel in an hour or so?”

“Great, I’ll leave a key at reception again” Ben smiled, a big gorgeous smile and Callum started to worry he’d made the wrong decision again, but it was too late now, he was doing it. Ben turned the engine back on and started to drive back to where he’d picked Callum up, it only took a few minutes and soon he was pulling up at the side of the road so Callum could climb out. He waved him off as he drove away and then turned to walk to where Whitney was waiting for him.

She could tell something was up and was looking at him curiously as he walked towards her, “what?” She said when he was close enough. He looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck, a little unsure how to tell her. She reached out and touched his arm, “what’s wrong?” She asked a bit worried. He looked up from the spot on the floor and looked at her instead, “that was Ben… he’s… I’m going to spend a couple of nights with him.”

Whitney looked aghast and opened her mouth to undoubtedly yell at him for being stupid so he interjected. “I know Whit ok I know. This is a stupid idea, I’m an idiot and I shouldn’t be anywhere near him… but I honestly couldn’t say no”. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow, “have a gun did he?” Callum just rolled his eyes, “ok I didn’t want to say no.” She softened at that and told him that she hoped he knew what he was doing. “I haven’t a fucking clue Whit” he admitted honestly.

They walked back to the flat together, there was no way that he was going to leave her out here alone and since she was attacked, she was of the same opinion. She promised him that she wouldn’t go out in his absence and would take the chance to have a couple of days off instead. They still had enough money from the last time he spent time with Ben that they could afford to skip a couple of days of work now and then.

He went into the bedroom to get changed and packed a few things, enough for two nights and a handful of condoms just in case. When he came out into the lounge he said bye to Whitney, promising he’d give her a call the next day. “I hope you don’t end up hurt babes” she said as she gave him a hug. He hoped he wasn’t going to be too. He’d already called a taxi and when he looked out the window to check it was there it was so he headed off down the stairs and out onto the street, climbing in the back and giving the name of the hotel.

The ride was relatively short, the traffic a lot quieter at this time of night. He was nervous, going back to the hotel and spending more time with Ben, he was so sure those two things were never going to happen again so to be back here again was a surprise. As the taxi pulled up outside the hotel it looked more imposing than the last time and he swallowed before paying the driver and getting out.

When he got to the entrance the doorman opened the door for him, it wasn’t the same one that was working the last time he was here and he was a bit sad to not see a somewhat friendly face. It was him that got the receptionist to hand over the key the last time and he was a little worried that whoever was working tonight wouldn’t believe that he was meant to be there at that time of night. At least he’d had a chance to get changed tonight, not wearing his usual work attire was a good start walking into a posh hotel.

He walked over to reception to be met with a guy working, he was a little nervous as he said that Ben Mitchell had left a key for him to pick up but the guy didn’t seem to bat an eyelid at him. He just turned around to a cupboard and reached inside to take out an envelope. He handed it to Callum and confirmed it was a key to the Prince Albert suite and to have a nice evening, giving him a fake smile and going back to what he was doing before Callum disturbed him.

Callum took the key and headed off across the foyer, going straight to the lifts. On the way up his stomach started to do little flips, it felt familiar yet different at the same time. Before when he was here it was a business thing, now though he knew it wasn’t the same. Ben hadn’t said a word about money or paying him, and he hadn’t brought it up either. The money wasn’t important, he’d stay here for free honestly and he wondered if Ben thought it was business or not, not knowing if he wanted to keep the money in place to keep him at arms length and make sure nothing personal would happen. 

The lift pinged open and he walked along the hallway to the room, he hesitated slightly not sure whether to knock or not but he decided that was silly since the other man had left him a key. He held it in front of the keypad and watched as it flashed green. He pushed the handle down and pushed the door open, “honey I’m home” he shouted out as he stepped through into the room and shut the door behind him.

Ben was stood in the kitchen area and he turned to where Callum had entered smiling. Callum smiled back, “so yeah I’m here”, “yeah you are”. They both stood and looked at each other for a moment, it felt charged and Callum could feel his heart starting to beat faster. He took a step towards the other man and Ben took a step too. They were getting closer, the space between them decreasing. The only sounds in the room were the tv playing quietly in the background and their breathing, almost in unison.

They were close now, within touching distance of each other and Callum wanted to reach out so badly, their eyes were connected and all it would take was one more step and he’d be there. He was about to take it when Ben spoke, “you wanna put your stuff in our room? I thought we could watch another film, pick up where we left off?”

Callum’s heart swelled with the ‘our room’ comment but simultaneously felt like it had been stabbed with the offer of a movie instead of anything else. “Yeah I’ll go get rid of my bag, you set the film up and get snacks?” Ben nodded and smiled, taking a step back and turning to walk away from him and towards the living room area to start fiddling with the remote control.

Callum headed up the stairs and went to their room, it looked the same but then it would do, hotel rooms always looked the same. He placed his bag on ‘his’ side of the bed and sat down for a minute with his head in his hands, what was he doing… this could backfire so badly but god help him this felt normal, like he was meant to be here, with Ben. He looked at the bed and smiled, remembering snuggling up with the other man in it, remembered the night they stayed awake all night talking, and how close they felt afterwards. He thinks that’s the moment it changed for him, he felt like they really connected. He wished he knew how Ben felt and whether or not that night had had the same impact on him.

He sighed and stood up to go back downstairs, there were giant bags of crisps on the table and a selection of drinks too all ready and waiting for him. Ben was sat on the sofa lounging back with his feet up, looking comfortable and at home in the familiar surroundings. Callum went and sat down next to him, smiling as the other man turned to look at him. He nodded towards the projector screen to see if Callum was ready for him to press play and when he said he was Ben pressed the button and the opening credits started to play.

Callum felt Ben moving closer to him so he moved his arm to make space, the other man snuggled into his side and Callum put his arm around him to pull him a little bit closer to him. They started to watch the movie and Callum was only a little bit distracted by the smell of Ben’s hair and his heart beating against his own.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning Callum woke up first, Ben was sleeping soundly wrapped around him, pretty much how they fell asleep. The previous night had gone much now he’d expected it to. As much as he hoped something would happen he was realistic and knew that most like it would be more of the same as before and he was right.

Ben happily stayed cuddled up to him during the film, his hand running along the top of his thigh without realising he was doing it. Callum’s hand found its way to his hair and tangled in it, Ben’s head automatically pushing into the touch. It all felt so natural and normal that neither one questioned it, the casual intimacy coming as easy as breathing to them both.

Nothing else happened though, they watched the film then went to bed, climbing in and moving into position in the middle, Callum on his back and Ben at his side, head on chest, hand on tummy and leg thrown over him. They both fell asleep as soon as they closed their eyes, comfortable and reassured that the other man was there.

Now Callum was awake with a sleeping Ben next to him, unguarded and beautiful. He could just see his eyelashes resting on the top of his cheeks, they seemed to brush the freckles he had there and every now and then they would twitch as if his mind was trying to get him to wake up. Callum gently stroked his hand up the other man’s bare arm, just a ghost touch so it didn’t wake him up but enough for him to stir slightly. Ben snuggled closer to him, pushing his face harder into Callum’s chest and his hand grabbing at his hip.

It went straight to Callum’s dick, he’d already woken up happy and Ben’s hand that close to his crotch wasn’t helping matters. Luckily he was still asleep and didn’t know what was going on beneath Callum’s pants, the last thing he wanted was for Ben to think he was a weirdo for getting turned on by a sleeping man so he willed it to go down. It wasn’t helping that Ben was wrapped around him, the close proximity and body heat adding to the situation.

Eventually he realised that he had no option but to try and sneak out of bed, hope that he could untangle himself from him and slip out. He tried to remove Ben’s hand but as soon as he touched it Ben woke up, coming back to consciousness slowly, stretching out and making the most adorable little moan before opening his eyes and looking up at Callum.

He lived for this moment, Ben looked at him so pure when he first woke up like he wasn’t trying to hide or pretend. These precious seconds made him think that Ben did feel something and Callum could see him looking at him the same way Chris used to. It was only when the other man started to get his wits about him again that the look left, becoming more conscious of where he was and what was happening.

It happened now, a few moments of bliss with Ben looking at him as if he hung the moon and then it was gone. Ben pushed up on his elbow and his body moved away from Callum, leaving a cold patch and a hole. If he noticed Callum’s boner then he didn’t mention it, just said “morning” as he threw the duvet back and got out of bed to go to the bathroom.

Callum was left alone in the bed as confused as he ever was. He knew there was a chance it would be like this, that Ben would still be holding back and not wanting to do anything but he still felt a sense of disappointment about it. He pulled the covers off him and got out of the other side of the bed, letting Ben know he was going to go use the other bathroom. Instead of relaxing in the big bath he decided on a quick shower, tugging on his still hard dick to relieve the pressure before he saw Ben again.

When he got back to the bedroom Ben had already disappeared and he could faintly hear him ordering room service downstairs. He threw some clothes on and grabbed his toothbrush out of his bag and went for a quick wash before heading down to join the other man to wait for their breakfast. Ben was sitting at the table in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and he smiled at him as he went to sit down and join him.

“I ordered some food”

“Yeah, that’s great. I have a bit of time before I have to head off. What are your plans today?”

“Meetings u’know, nothing interesting”

“Did you sleep ok?”

“Better then I have for months” Ben smiled as he looked down at the table before looking back up at Callum. He felt his heart twitch at the way the other man was looking at him. He’d slept really well too, amazed at what a difference it made to sleep in the same bed as someone he had feelings for. Just then there was a knock on the door and Ben got up to answer it, letting the staff bring a couple of trays of food in for them. It wasn’t quite the spread that Callum had on his first ever morning here, but it was everything that he had chosen to eat on that day, Ben remembering exactly what he’d picked to eat.

He ate quickly, aware of the time and knowing he had to catch a bus to get to college and it was going to take a while to get there. It was only when he was getting up to leave that Ben asked him if he wanted him to call a car for him. It was tempting, the thought of a driver delivering him straight to the college rather than messing about with two separate buses, but he didn’t fancy having to answer the questions if he showed up in a chauffeur driven expensive car.

“Nah it’s fine, I find the bus reassuring” he said honestly, he caught the bus pretty much everyday of his life, that was normal to him and he knew the exact numbers he needed to get. “I’ll be back sometime after lunch, what time are you due back?” He asked Ben. The other man just shrugged, “dunno, depends on the how the meeting goes, if it goes well I’ll be back a similar time, if not it‘ll be midnight” he replied as he laughed. Callum couldn’t tell if he was serious, he hoped he wasn’t though, he was only here for another couple of nights he didn’t want to not see Ben.

He stepped towards Ben to reach out and touch his arm, “I’ll see ya later yeah” he said before he let go again and picked up his phone, wallet and key off the side and left. He glanced back and Ben nodded, then smiled at him as he shut the door behind him. When he got outside he headed to the bus stop, his bus was due any minute and as he got on and swiped his travel card he walked up to the top floor and was able to sit at the front of the bus by the window. He took his phone out and gave Whitney a call, not entirely sure it was a good idea but did it anyway.

“Well?” She said as she answered

“Yeah nothing happened, we watched a film and slept”

“Oh babes, I’m sorry, are you ok?”

“Yeah, I knew it was a possibility, I was prepared for it”

“But still… you on your way to class?”

“Yeah I’m on the bus…”

They chatted for most of the journey on the first bus, Callum only hung up when he had to get off and change for the next one half an hour later. He felt better talking to Whit, she didn’t say ‘I told you so’ or rubbed it in that he was stupid to think anything would be different this time. She just made him feel better about the situation and told him he’d be home soon with a big wad of money. He didn’t admit that he hadn’t had the conversation about payment yet, he knew what she’d say. He had no clue if Ben was intending to pay him, not that he was bothered about the money, he was here because he wanted to spend more time with the other man.

Once he got off the second bus he was at the college and Tom came over to see him as he walked into the kitchen. Shit, Tom… they’d had that date and kissed, he’d totally forgotten about him and the fact they were meant to be going on another date. As Tom was talking to him he wasn’t concentrating but was instead trying to think of a good way to put him off going out again. “Are you free tonight Callum?”

Crap, he needed an excuse and he didn’t think that ‘I’m a hooker and the guy who paid me £10,000 to stay the week with him is back messing with my head’ was an appropriate reason. Instead he decided on a half truth, that someone he had feelings for was back in the picture and until he had sorted things out in his head then it wouldn’t be fair to see him. Tom looked disappointed but he thanked him for being honest and told him to give him a call if he got things straight.

It was a shame, Tom was a really good guy and he wished he could just go on another date with him and have an easy life, but when was his life ever easy… the class started then and Callum was thankfully distracted for a few hours, not having the time to think about anything other than how to make a perfect soufflé. The time flew by and after a successful attempt at making the dessert it was time to head back to the hotel. Tom gave him a little smile as they both left and he was glad the other man wasn’t a dick, the last thing he wanted was to fall out with someone he was going to be spending a lot of time with in the classroom. 

It was a little after 2pm when got back to the room, he walked in not sure if he was going to see Ben or not but the other man was standing outside on the balcony. He put his stuff on the side and went out to join him, pulling open the sliding door to step back out into the cold air. Ben turned to look at him and smiled as Callum stood next to him.

“Meeting went well then?”

“Yeah, not bad… how was college?”

“I made a soufflé” Callum said as he smiled a big smile, pleased with how well it had turned out.

The other man’s eyes lit up at that, clearly impressed with what Callum had learned to make “that’s so cool, I love them” Ben beamed at him. Callum couldn’t help himself and the words slipped out before he could stop them, “you can sample my soufflé anytime”, he paused and hated himself a little bit but Ben just laughed and he relaxed. It was hard to not make innuendos in front of men sometimes, it was so ingrained in him to flirt when working that it unfortunately just came out before he could stop it. 

“So… plans for the rest of the day?” Ben asked

“What d’ya wanna do?”

“Pub? Can get a late lunch, have a few drinks. See where the wind takes us?”

“I like that idea, just let me get changed quickly, I got some shit on me at college. I’ll be back with you in a sec”

He chose a new pair of jeans he’d bought, well more like jeggings really, they were skin tight and it was an effort to pull them up but he felt confident and good in them so figured why not. When he was ready he came back down from the bedroom to see Ben sitting on the sofa, the other man looked him over slowly and bit his bottom lip before telling him that he’d ordered a car and it would he there in a few minutes. It made him feel good that Ben’s eyes lingered on his crotch slightly longer than anywhere else and he could feel Ben’s eyes on his arse when he walked past him.

Ben got a call shortly after to say the car was there and they headed downstairs, out through the foyer and into the waiting vehicle. It was another car with a bottle of champagne and this time when Ben nodded to it and said he was welcome to some, Callum said yes. Ben popped it open and poured them both a glass, clinking it as they were chauffeured to a pub. He figured if he was going to be having a couple of drinks anyway, why not start now.

The journey lasted longer than he thought it would, the landscape changing outside the window from posh houses to a more run down area. When they pulled up outside an old east end boozer Callum felt instantly at home, this place was so much like the pub his dad would drag him along to when he was a kid, giving him a packet of salt and vinegar crisps and a coke to sit quietly in the corner while he got drunk with his mates. His brother would come and collect him later, taking him home after work while their dad stayed to drink even more.

It wasn’t the same pub of course, but it felt very familiar anyway. Ben asked if the pub was ok and Callum nodded and said it was perfect. They got out the car and Ben told the driver where he could wait for them and he drove off. Ben went ahead and pushed the door open, leading the way to the bar. They ordered a couple of bottles of lager and found a booth in the corner, settling down to look at a menu. It was that odd in between time for a meal but Ben assured him that this place did food all day so don’t worry about it.

When they decided what to have, Ben went up to order it, handing over the cash and picking up another couple of drinks for them. The lager Callum chose was low alcohol so he could drink more without passing out, he wasn’t stupid and was in this for the long haul. Ben brought the drinks back and placed them on the table, slipping in next to Callum so their legs ended up touching. Callum had to talk to distract him from the heat of Ben’s body up against him.

“This doesn’t seem like your sorta place…”

“I’m from round here, before… we didn’t always have what we have now. I was born here and this was my dad’s local once upon a time. I come back now and then, it’s nice u’know, familiar. I remember coming here as a kid”

“I know what you mean, it reminds me of a pub my dad used to take me to too”

Their upbringings were so similar, it was funny how their paths in life ended up so different. They continued to talk while waiting for their drinks, the food arriving and chatting through that too. Callum went to buy the next round, insisting on it when Ben was about to go buy more drinks and telling him to stay there instead. He was beginning to feel a bit merry, even with a full meal of steak pie and mash the alcohol was starting to make his mind a bit foggy. He knew he needed to be careful or else he could end up doing something he would regret. Still, he bought shots, he was having a good time and he didn’t want it to end.

They continued to drink well into the evening, the pub got busier as people were finishing work and locals started to pile into the place with the noise of chatter getting louder. Eventually it got to the point they could barely talk over the noise, by now they’d drunk their way through a fair amount and decided it was probably a good idea to head home. Ben gave the driver a call and said he needed to pop to the loo before they headed off. Callum agreed and said he needed to go too so he followed the other man through the crowd and walked into the toilets.

There was nobody else in there, it would be so easy to press Ben against the wall and kiss him, they were both chilled out from the booze and he wondered if Ben would push him away or not. He watched as the other man walked over to the urinal and heard him unzip his trousers. His booze addled brain kicked itself back into touch, Ben was just here for a piss and had no interest in that. Why would he, they were in the bogs of a pub where anyone could walk in at any moment. He went and stood at the urinal next to him, unzipping himself and emptying his bladder as Ben finished and turned around to wash his hands.

When they were both done and ready they stumbled out onto the street where the car was waiting for them, the driver got out and opened the door and they pretty much fell in. As they were driven home they were giggling in the backseat like a pair of teenagers and Callum caught the driver looking at them in the rear view mirror with a smile. They’d had such a good day he didn’t want it to end, for it to ever end, he looked at Ben who was now leaning his head back against the headrest and had his eyes closed. He was going to miss him so much when this ended and he suddenly hit the maudlin point of being drunk, not wanting to say goodbye again.

He reached a hand out and stroked Ben’s cheek lightly, barely a touch but it was enough to make the other man open his eyes and look at him curiously. He just smiled down at him and kept his hand on his cheek, he didn’t know what he was doing, he just knew he wanted to touch the sleepy man. Ben’s eyes went from Callum’s eyes and down to his lips, watching as the taller man let a tongue creep out to swipe slowly over his bottom lip and Ben’s eyes got wider.

Something was about to happen, Callum could feel it and soon Ben was changing position, moving around in his seat so he was sitting up more and facing towards him. Callum had let his hand drop from Ben’s face in the move but it landed on Ben’s thigh and he moved his body as close as the seat belt allowed, angling his face just so. Ben leaned over, their lips about to touch when the car came to a stop and the driver announced they were home. “Fuck” Callum whispered under his breath as Ben snapped back to reality and sat back.

He looked as disappointed as Callum felt though and gave a smile of apology as he climbed out of his side of the car with Callum doing the same on his side. They stumbled through the hotel and over to the lift, both leaning up against the side of the lift as it travelled upwards. It felt like they were standing as far as humanly possible away from each other in the enclosed space and when the door opened Ben stepped out first, striding far ahead of Callum towards the room. He swiped the keycard over the pad and shoved it open when it turned green, walking into the room and allowing the door to shut behind him.

It hadn’t quite closed all the way and Callum managed to catch it before it clicked shut. He was worried though, Ben seemed pissed off all of a sudden and he was concerned about what the other man was going to say when he walked into the room. When he got in and closed the door he could see Ben a few steps ahead of him, his shoulders were hunched and tense and he had his back to him. Callum stayed stood next to the closed door, giving Ben space, “Ben… are you ok?”

Suddenly Ben rounded on him and strode over, putting his hands on his chest and pushing him back against the door. Callum’s back hit the wood with a soft thud and Ben’s hands were still on his chest, they stayed like that for what felt like an age, just looking at one another with electricity dancing all around them. Ben looked up at Callum with blue eyes that were turning dark and Callum reached his hand out to wrap it around the back of the smaller man’s head, his fingers threading through the hair there. Ben moved then, lifting himself up to his full height as Callum lowered his head and finally, their lips touched, fireworks exploding as lips parted and tongues explored each other. 

Ben made a noise, a desperate moan deep in his throat and Callum lost it, deepening the kiss and wrapping a hand around Ben’s back to pull him tightly against his body. Pushing off the door and walking him back until he hit a horizontal surface and could lift him onto it, parting his legs and standing in between them, never losing body contact. Their now hard dicks were lined up perfectly and he started to thrust his hips as he continued to kiss Ben, hands roaming and touching every part of him he could reach. It was over in minutes, both men too far gone for it to be anything other than a quickie ‘come in your pants’ encounter.

Afterwards they leaned against each other, Ben was sat on the kitchen table with Callum still between his legs, his hand was resting on the top of Callum’s arse from where he was encouraging the other man’s movements and they were breathing heavily together. The taller man eventually managed to stumble back a bit, still touching Ben but needing to pull back and gauge his reaction. Ben just smiled at him blearily and looked shy, Callum moved back in to kiss him gently on the lips again and Ben responded by stroking a hand on his cheek, their lips still connected.

As much as Callum wished he could stand with Ben forever he took a step back and said he should have a shower, he’d made a bit of a mess in his pants, Ben just laughed and reached out for him, taking his hand he said “ditto, wanna jump in the shower with me?” Callum agreed immediately, nodding enthusiastically and happy that Ben wasn’t trying to do a runner. They headed upstairs together, Ben holding Callum’s hand and leading the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know right.... finally 😂


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning they were tangled in bed together naked, the bed clothes were a complete mess, the sheet all twisted and the duvet half hanging off the side. After their shower the previous night they’d stayed up for hours having sex, although in Callum’s mind it was making love. He wouldn’t say that to Ben though, too worried about how full on he might find it. The fact that what happened happened was a massive surprise, he didn’t want to risk coming on too strong, not wanting to let on just how far gone he was already.

Callum woke up before Ben did like he usually seemed to, he looked down at the top of Ben’s head where it rested on his chest. He moved his head to crane round to look at the scratches on the other man’s back, where he’d dug his nails into the skin as Ben moved inside him, bringing him to yet another mind blowing climax. His whole body ached, what they’d done, the positions they’d tried, it was like nothing else he’d experienced before, the way they fit together so perfectly, he’d never get over it.

In the end they’d been so exhausted they’d had no choice but to fall asleep, as desperate as Callum was to stay awake and stay in the moment forever, his last orgasm completely wiped him out and he could barely move afterwards. He had a vague recollection of Ben kissing him on his forehead and a warm cloth wiping over him before his eyes dropped shut, his body giving in to slumber. He knew Ben was wrapped around him all night though, even asleep he could sense him there.

He lifted his hand and touched the raised red marks on Ben’s back, there was something about the idea of marking him that made his heart swell. He’d never wanted to do it before but now all he wanted to do was to mark every inch of his body, to suck and kiss his stamp all over him, to let him know he was his and that he belonged with him. He needed to warn other men that he was off limits and taken, a sense of proprietary taking over him now that he’d never felt before. He felt ridiculous but he couldn’t help it. These feelings had been bubbling for months and now it had actually happened he wanted him even more badly.

He was worried though, they were both drunk last night. They’d sobered up somewhat after the shower but there was still a doubt that Ben would regret what happened and he was terrified of him waking up and being kept at arms length again. He touched Ben’s hair and then the bite on his shoulder, another orgasm injury, made the same time as the scratches. Just then Ben stirred, his head twitching as he blinked awake.

Callum swore his heart stopped beating for a moment, he was waiting for Ben to look towards his face and give him some indication as to how he was feeling and he couldn’t breathe from the anticipation. Would he just throw the cover back and climb out, head off cold and unfeeling to shower alone or would he stay with him, warm in bed together.

Ben surprised him by moving his head and kissing his belly, his hand travelling down beneath the covers and his head following soon after, kissing its way down his skin until his mouth latched onto his dick. Callum sucked in a breath and threw the cover off, taking in every single detail of how Ben looked in the moment and nearly coming from that alone. He had to scrunch his eyes shut and look away to prolong it, his hands twisting in the bed sheets and his toes curling.

Afterwards Callum returned the favour and they laid in bed sweaty and out of breath, continuing on from where they left off the previous night, unable to stop or leave each other alone. It was well past 10 before either of them even considered moving out of bed but Callum was aware of the fact he had to get to college so reluctantly prised Ben off him and slipped out of bed as the other man pouted at him. “I’m sorry, I really need to shower and get to college”, “I thought you wanted me to try your soufflé” Ben replied as he went to get out of bed to try and follow him into the en-suite.

Callum laughed and pointed out he already had, he’d tried his everything last night, “it’s a couple of hours, I’ll be back and we can continue this later” he promised as he turned to walk towards the bathroom, he only got a couple of steps, his hand on the handle about to push it down when he felt Ben behind him, his dick pressing into him.

“What can I do to convince you to stay” he breathed seductively into Callum’s ear as his hand reached round to touch him. Goose pimples covered his entire body as he felt Ben’s breath on his neck and Callum smacked his open hand on the bathroom door as Ben’s hand wrapped around his hard dick, his forehead dropped to bang on the wood and he thrust into the tight hot hand. “Oh fuck it” he said as he turned around and smashed their mouths together, pushing Ben back towards the bed. Ben fell and splayed over the mattress with Callum climbing on top of him as he leaned down to kiss him again. 

He didn’t make it into college and Ben didn’t bother to even attempt doing any work. They spent most of the day naked, even when they weren’t doing anything they just napped and laid together. It was pretty much the perfect day and Callum was over the moon that Ben seemed to be as into this as he was. He was so worried that he’d have to go back to keeping his hands to himself, that Ben would withdraw from him. Things couldn’t be better as far as he was concerned.

When it got to 3pm they had to admit defeat and leave the bed. They hadn’t eaten all day and their bodies were exhausted, needing to recover somewhat from the exertion of the last however many hours they’d spent having sex. They dragged their bodies into the shower where they helped to wash each other off and then put some clothes on to go downstairs to order some food. Ben looked at his phone and said he needed to make a couple of calls and Callum took it as the perfect opportunity to check in with Whit too as Ben walked back upstairs for some privacy.

When she answered he couldn’t help the excitement from bubbling over, rambling and falling over his words at trying to tell her how well it’s going and how perfect it was. She tried to talk a few times but he carried on talking over her, far too happy to let her get a word in edgeways. When he eventually took a breath she managed to speak, telling him how happy she was for him but don’t get his hopes up too much. He was confused…

“Babes, he’s rich, from an entirely different world from you. What you have there ain’t real, it’s a hotel room. He’s still gonna go home, back to his penthouse somewhere. You think you’re going with him?” “I….” she was right. It was nothing he hadn’t thought himself but he was so happy to finally be able to be with Ben that his brain decided to ignore the niggle about it not being something that could last. They had one more night together, then Ben was gone again and he didn’t know when he’d be back, if he’d be back.

Whitney said she was sorry for bringing it up, but she just wanted him to be real and think it over, she didn’t want him to be all excited and then end up heartbroken. He thanked her, he knew she had his best interests at heart, and then hung up. He was so happy ten minutes ago and now all he could think was that Ben was going to be gone tomorrow and he’d possibly never see him again.

He was broken from his thoughts by a knock at the door, he went to answer it so the hotel worker could bring the trays of food in and place them on the table. Callum said thanks and shut the door after he left, going to sit down and lift the lids off what they’d ordered. He’d lost his appetite all of a sudden though and didn’t actually fancy anything that was sitting in front of him. He picked up a fork and started to prod at the steak which was sitting on the plate closest to him half heartedly.

Just then Ben walked back in, dressed in a suit as he came over to where Callum sat. “I’m so sorry, I have to pop out for a quick meeting, I’ll be an hour tops then we can spend the rest of the day in bed”, he leaned down to kiss Callum on the forehead as he grabbed his briefcase and phone and he was gone before Callum had a chance to say anything in response. He was just left sitting at the table with enough food to feed a family of four, wondering what the hell was going to happen.

He tried to not think about what Whitney said but when Ben walked back in 50 minutes later it was still on his mind. He’d moved to the sofa and was staring into space, not watching crappy tv which was playing away to itself and the room service trays were still sitting on the table. Ben walked over to him dropping his case and phone off along the way, and sat down next to him. “Hey” he said as he nudged Callum’s shoulder with his own. Callum blinked and realised Ben was home and snapped his mind out of its rut.

Ben was smiling at him and he decided that if this was going to come to an end then he wanted to enjoy whatever time they had left together. The other man was looking at him so adoringly he couldn’t help but reach out and touch his face, cupping his cheek and smiling back at him. He pushed Ben back against the sofa and climbed into his lap, thankful that he’d bothered to pack a load of condoms to bring with him.

Afterwards they laid sprawled on the sofa, clothes thrown over the floor and Callum’s underwear somehow made it on top of the projector screen. Callum swore that he could live the rest of his life and never connect so physically with someone again. Everywhere Ben touched him was on fire and even now with the way the younger man was stroking his thigh with his fingertips, it was doing things to him. If he didn’t remove himself from Ben’s vicinity then he’d have to jump on him again which he’s not sure his body could take that right now.

Instead he managed to move, getting himself in a seated position and ignoring the way Ben pleaded with him with just a look to stay where he was. “Seriously, if we do it again I’m going to be a dead man…” he laughed as Ben reached out to try and pull him back down. He leaned down for a quick kiss but continued on his mission to break the spell and move away. He got up and walked over to where his pants were hanging off the screen and pulled them back on. The whole time Ben was watching him but he ignored the puppy dog look that was being sent his way, instead he picked up Ben’s pants off the floor and threw them at him to put back on.

Eventually Ben complied with Callum’s wishes to put some clothes on and they ordered some fresh food. With Callum now not thinking about what could happen he found he was hungry again, and Ben had ran off so quickly earlier that he hadn’t had a chance to eat anything either. When the door rang for room service, Ben opened it and let the worker in. He gave them a look as he placed the new trays down on the table and then started to clean away the untouched food from earlier. Clearly the pile of cold expensive food was something of a rarity in this place.

When he left they tucked in, enjoying the second attempt at having a late lunch which was now an early dinner. Callum asked what the meeting was that Ben had to go to all of a sudden, “ah it was my dad, he arranged a meeting with a garage group we’re trying to buy out”. “Important stuff then?” Ben nodded, “yeah it’s a deal worth about 2 million quid so I had to go show my face or dad would go spare”. Callum nearly chocked on his chip, “2 million pounds?” Ben nodded again. This just demonstrated again the different worlds they lived in but before he could dwell on it anymore Ben reached out to touch his hand while he smiled at him, as if he could sense what Callum was thinking and it helped to distract him.

They finished their food and it was now evening, their last one together so they decided to go out, Callum had already spent all day at the hotel so he thought he could do with getting out of these four walls. “We could see a film? A show? Pub?” Ben was throwing out lots of options and was more than happy to let the other man decide, Callum said he’d rather like to go to the theatre again, he loved it the last time and when Ben’s face lit up he knew he made the right choice, choosing something they would both really enjoy.

He went to get showered and changed while Ben sorted out some tickets and when Ben was freshened up too they were ready to go. They were just about to leave when Ben stopped him, handing him a nice looking box. Callum asked what it was but the other man told him he’d find out if he opened it, so he did. He lifted the lid and inside was a watch, it looked expensive and when he spotted the word ‘Rolex’ on it he shook his head and tried to give it back, scared of holding something worth so much and breaking it.

“I want you to have it, I picked it out earlier when I popped out”

“Ben I can’t… it’s too much”

“I want you to have it” he repeated as he put his hand on Callum’s wrist, using his thumb to stroke his pulse point gently, “it’s a gift, I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you being here, how much I’ve enjoyed spending time with you”

Callum’s heart beat hard, was Ben really feeling the same way he was, could it be that he wasn’t in this alone after all. He smiled and nodded, giving Ben permission to take the watch out of the box and fasten it around his wrist. The metal was cold against his skin and he couldn’t believe how heavy it felt. He’d never owned anything like this before and thought he never would again. He held it out for Ben to look at and the other man smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek, “suits ya” he said before saying it was time to get going. Callum looked at the expensive watch on his arm, not quite believing it was really on there as they left the room and headed downstairs.

They spent another magical night at the theatre together, Callum had now discovered how much he loved musicals, the whole experience of being taken to another world and the voices filling the entire theatre as the actors sang. He could see why Ben was such a fan and on the way out Ben bought him a soundtrack to take home with him from the merchandise stand. As they were leaving someone came over to them and started to talk to Ben, the younger man was polite to them but cut the chat short and guided Callum out of the theatre, out to their waiting car. The ride back to the hotel was quiet, both men tired from how active they had been through the day so they just sat holding hands in the backseat as they watched the world go by.

When they got back they had just enough energy for a lazy hand job before they both fell asleep, the last thought Callum had before he closed his eyes was just how much he was going to miss this tomorrow when Ben leaves and he was back at home. He squeezed the smaller man just that a little bit tighter as he dropped off and he didn’t let go of him all night.


	12. Chapter 12

Callum didn’t sleep particularly well, he kept waking up to make sure Ben was still there and each time he opened his eyes the other man was still in the same place, wrapped in his arms and sleeping soundly. The last time he woke up Ben was awake too, they spent time kissing and exploring each other’s bodies some more before falling back asleep, this time Callum slept til Ben’s alarm went off for a meeting he had. He woke up as Ben was climbing out of bed and he watched his naked bum walking to the bathroom.

There was a sense of dread and inevitably about the day, Ben needed to leave within the next hour and Callum had college to go to. He didn’t know if they would be returning to the hotel afterwards or if when they both left to go off somewhere else that that was it. The thought of saying bye to Ben with no idea if he’d be seeing him again was twisting his guts up inside. He knew there was a chance he’d return since he came to town quite often for work, but what sort of agreement or relationship they might have the next time he didn’t have a clue.

He decided to join Ben in the shower, this could potentially be the last time he could be with him for a while so every minute counts. He pushed open the door and the room was full of steam, he could see Ben through the glass door and he looked beautiful, he had his hands on the wall, head bowed down and was letting the water pound his back, much like he’d done himself the first time he used the shower. He pulled back the sliding door and stepped in behind him, reaching around the other man’s stomach and plastering himself up against his back.

Ben immediately relaxed into the embrace, moving his head so Callum could place a kiss to his neck before standing there under the spray together. Callum wondered what Ben was thinking, if he was having similar thoughts to his own. He wanted to ask so badly, to find out what his future plans were but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead they stayed under the hot water together, the taller man embracing the smaller man and taking comfort in each other, nothing sexual about it, just closeness and contentment.

When they eventually got out and got dressed they went downstairs and ordered some food. As they were waiting for it arrive Callum had to ask a question, “so… is this it? I mean are you coming back here after your meeting or are you heading straight off?” Ben thought about it for a moment, “well, I technically still have the room til tomorrow, I have to head off tonight though, I have somewhere I need to be first thing. But if you want we can meet back here later? Have something to eat before I go if you’re still free?”

Callum smiled and had a sense of relief that it wasn’t goodbye just yet. The thought of leaving the room to go to college and then heading back to the flat wasn’t really appealing to him. He missed Whit, of course he did, but it would mean this was over and he wasn’t ready for that. He nodded at Ben and said that he’d only be in college for a few hours so he’ll just wait around for him to get home. Home… that’s what this felt like but it wasn’t, tomorrow night someone else would be here, someone that wasn’t the man sitting opposite him smiling and it felt so wrong.

Someone knocked at the door then and he went to answer it to allow their breakfast to be brought in. They spent the time chatting about inconsequential stuff, neither getting deep and meaningful, perhaps it was a conscious decision from them both, and soon it was time for Ben to head off for his meeting. He got up and grabbed his things, stopping by Callum to kiss him on the top of his head and touching his cheek with the palm of his hand while smiling at him, and then he was gone.

Callum took the opportunity to look around the suite, smiling fondly at the memories they’d built here, the places they’d been together and how amazing it had been since they connected. This could be his last chance to do this and he wanted to commit every inch of the place to his memory. He grabbed his phone and went to sit outside on the balcony, snapping a picture of the view. He opened the gallery to check it came out ok and then scrolled through his pictures, finding shots of him and Ben from the last couple of days. His favourite was the one of them in bed together, nothing but a sheet to cover their modesty and their post sex hair was sticking up all over the place. They looked so happy though, they looked like a couple and it was a picture Ben had taken himself, insisting he wanted to capture the moment he was all shagged out and officially couldn’t come anymore as they both laughed.

He chuckled as he remembered it and continued to scroll, he hit the pictures of him and Whitney and it brought him back to reality again. He was happy with Whit, all their photos were good times and held happy memories too and he knew that going home would be ok. He’d miss Ben of course but he would always have her by his side, she’d been his best friend for years and got him through some really bad times. She would get him through this too.

When he noticed the time he knew he had to get going, if he left it any later then he was going to he late to college and he’d already skipped out on yesterday… it was worth it though, to spend the day with Ben. He’d do it again today if the other man was willing to sack off work again, spend every single second with him that he could. But no, Ben has already left and he needed to move too. He made sure to pack his stuff so he could pick it up later, leaving his bag by the door for ease of leaving and then headed off to college.

He made it in on time and the class was ok, he was somewhat distracted though and didn’t make the best job out of the recipe he was meant to be making but it was edible even if it wasn’t the most visually appealing. Tom went up to him to ask if he was ok, he’d obviously noticed that Callum wasn’t there the previous day and was now not really feeling it today. “Is it the guy?” Callum nodded his head and apologised, not thinking the other man really wanted to know. “He’s an idiot if he lets you go u’know”, “I wish he’d realise that” Callum lamented sadly. Tom touched his arm gently and said he’d see him tomorrow as he picked up his stuff and left.

Callum checked his phone to see if Ben had contacted him at all and he’d had a text, just to say that he was on his way back and he’d see him soon. He smiled and felt his heart skip, happy to be able to spend that little bit more time with him. He went to the bus stop and luckily the one he needed pulled up almost immediately, he hopped on and sat at the back, deciding to call Whitney while he has the chance. He needed to let her know that he wouldn’t be back til the evening, she picked up straight.

She wished him good luck and she hoped that the goodbye goes ok. She knew her friend, knew that outwardly he put on an act but inside he was big hearted and prone to being hurt. She remembers what he was like when she first met him, sad and broken hearted in a bar and it took a fair amount of time for him to come out of his shell. She hoped that heartache wasn’t going to have the same effect on him this time… She could have told him this was going to happen as soon as he expressed an interest in going back to Ben’s again but it wasn’t her place to stop him. She just needed to be there to pick up the pieces. She said she’d see him later saying “love ya babes” as she ended the call.

Soon Callum was changing buses and was nearing the hotel, the second bus didn’t seem to take long and before he knew it he was stepping off it onto the street, heading in the direction of where Ben was and walking straight through the foyer, into the lift and up to their room. When he got inside Ben was sitting on the sofa on a video chat with someone on his phone and hadn’t realised the other man had got in. Callum had no clue who he was talking to, he could just hear a man’s voice. He tried to not listen, it was a private conversation and he was about to alert Ben to the fact he was there when his ears picked up on what they were saying.

“So… Billy said he saw you last night”

“Yeah I ran into him”

“He said you were with someone?”

“Nah”

“C’mon bruv, it’s a good thing, a new guy…”

“He ain’t a new guy, he’s just an employee alright, I’m paying him to do something for me”

Callum’s heart sank and he tuned out the rest of the conversation, he was just an employee. It was true. Ben was paying him for a service and man had he provided a service for him, so much more than for anyone else he’d ever met. He felt ill all of a sudden and worse than he’d ever felt before about his job, he felt so stupid for thinking Ben could see him as anything other than a hooker, but he’d allowed himself to believe it was something else. When they kissed it felt real, he’d never kissed a John before, never had them go down him before, he was so sure this was something else, but he was wrong.

He wanted to turn around and run away, to pick up his stuff and just leave and not have to talk to Ben again, but fuck it, if the other man saw him as an employee then he damn well needed to pay up for the goods he provided. He’d missed out on a few days work to be here so it was only fair to ask for his payment, even if it wasn’t anything that they had discussed since Ben came to find him the other night.

He decided to open and close the door loudly to let the other man know he was back, not wanting him to know that he had overheard his conversation. It worked and when he slammed the door shut a little louder than necessary, Ben quickly said goodbye to his call, stood up to rush over to where Callum was and greeted him with a big smile. The taller man tried to smile back but it didn’t quite reach his eyes and Ben could tell. “Hey, what’s wrong?”he said as he stepped towards him and reached out to touch his elbow.

Callum pulled his arm away, “somethings come up and I have to go”, “oh, anything I can do to help?” Ben asked genuinely as he tried to reach out again, “Nah, if I can just have my money I’ll get going”. Ben’s face fell, the warmth and familiarity disappeared and he looked a strange mixture of sad and angry. Callum felt a pit in his stomach opening up, he wanted to take it back and to reach out to touch him, to pull him to him and wrap his arms around him. But he couldn’t, what this is is a business arrangement and maybe Ben’s pissed off cos he thought he was getting a freebie and now has to pay up. Yeah, that’s it, it couldn’t be anything else. Callum was trying very hard to convince himself so that he didn’t go to Ben and kiss him like he wanted to, trying his hardest to keep his distance.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, eventually Ben seemed to shake himself into action and nodded, “I’ll go get it” he said quietly as he turned and walked up the stairs. Callum took a few deep breaths whilst he was gone, trying to calm his nerves and not crack under the pressure. He could feel the bile rising in his throat and felt like he was going to be sick. He just needed to hold it together a little while longer. Once he had the money he could get out of here, grab a taxi and get home, back to Whitney and real life, not this ridiculous make believe bullshit he had managed to convince himself was real.

He leaned back against the door, closing his eyes for a moment before he heard Ben coming back down the stairs. He pushed off the door and stood tall, confident and defiant, his persona of Rob back in place. Ben was back in front of him now holding an envelope, he was pulling at the corner of it nervously and looked like he wanted to say something, opening his mouth to speak, but then he shut it again and put the money down on the table. Callum stepped forwards to pick it up and it felt thick, nice and full and Callum thought it was only fair he had a big pay packet for getting his heart broken.

“We didn’t discuss a price so I hope that’s ok” Ben nodded at the envelope Callum held in his hands, “yeah”, it was a half hearted reply. “So, you need me again you know where to find me right, I’m always up for a bit of business”, he cringed at what he was saying but he didn’t want to let on how much this was hurting him. Ben nodded sadly, “you take care ok, I hope your course goes well” he said honestly before he tried to smile and turned away, leaving Callum hovering in the doorway, the look on the other man’s face nearly broke him and he itched to follow him but he let him go. Ben walked back upstairs and Callum heard a door shut softly as he presumably went into their, no, Ben’s room.

Tears were threatening to fall now and he had to get out of there, he picked up his bag which was still sitting next to the door from that morning and he took one final look around, his bottom lip quivering as he turned and pulled on the handle, opened the door and walked through it, leaving the room and Ben behind. He shut it and stood for a moment trying to compose himself, he looked at the envelope in his hand and felt a tear roll down his cheek. He didn’t want it, the money, he wanted Ben. He regretted asking for it, feeling like it diminished what they had, even if Ben saw it like that, he didn’t. He made a decision and quietly opened the door again to go back in, placing the envelope on the table and then walked out, leaving this world behind him and heading home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry... you knew it wasn’t going to be easy 😂.


	13. Chapter 13

It was an awful journey home, he decided to get a taxi since he couldn’t face sitting on a bus surrounded by people. He gave Whitney a call to ask if she could have some cash ready when he got there and when the car pulled up in front of the row of shops he called home, she came rushing over to pay the driver. Callum climbed out and she went straight to him, pulling him to her and hugging him tightly. “Are you ok babes?” She whispered into his chest, “not really” he admitted before they went to the flat together.

Once inside he collapsed down onto the sofa while Whit went to get him something to drink, she returned with a beer and sat down next to him. “What happened? How was it ended?” Callum told her about overhearing the phone call, about Ben called him his employee, “I really thought there was something there Whit, we… we spent an entire day together, like I never thought it could be like that…” he looked to see his best friend with a faint smile on her face, “I’m an idiot ain’t I, it was never going to be real”. She just moved closer to him and put her arm around him for comfort, letting him talk about his feelings.

When he’d finished his second beer he was feeling a little more chilled out and Whitney rang down to the Chinese to order some food, it didn’t take long and soon it was sent up to them. Callum didn’t feel particularly hungry, but with two beers in him he knew he should eat something to help soak up the alcohol. They spent the evening watching some awful made for TV movie snuggled on the sofa with a couple more drinks, both happy that they had each other again and when they went to bed Callum had a terrible nights sleep, tossing and turning, not feeling comfortable .

In the morning he woke up still feeling tired, he wanted to skip out on college but knew it would be better to just get on with life and skiving off the one thing he had that was potentially going to change his whole life was a seriously bad idea. He jumped in the shower to freshen up, his head a little foggy from the beers and the heat helped to clear it. He quickly unpacked his bag and come across the watch Ben had bought for him, he looked at it and stroked the face, remembering that night and felt like he wanted to cry. He shoved it in his drawer, hoping that if it was out of sight out of mind, and headed off out the flat dejectedly. Whitney told him to have a good day and he nodded unconvincingly as he went.

The bus journey was uninspiring, it was much shorter from home than it was from the hotel and he was there within 20 minutes. He walked in and Tom smiled at him, his smile fading when he saw Callum was looking a bit down, he went over to him to check in on him, “it didn’t go well with the guy then?” Callum shook his head, “I should have known better really” he really should, him and Ben were never really going to be a thing. “Let me take you out, cheer you up”, Callum looked horrified before Tom added “not a date, as friends”. He relaxed then but still declined, he had a few drinks last night, he didn’t need to drink again. He half heartedly said that maybe they could hang out next week instead.

At the end of the class he snuck out before Tom could stop him again, he was a nice guy but he just didn’t want to get into it all and wanted to get home. Luck was on his side and he arrived at the bus stop marginally before the bus so he was able to more or less get straight on it. He was home soon enough and as he walked up the stairs to the flat he had a funny feeling there something was off, a sense of dread as he ascended the staircase.

When he opened the door and walked into the flat he was confronted with Ben in his living room. His heart stopped for a second and all the breath left his body, Ben was here, in his flat. He was sitting awkwardly on the sofa with Whitney sitting in a chair glaring at him. He stood up when Callum came in, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture and took a step closer to him. Callum tried to smile, tried to have a mask in place and wanted to try and pretend this wasn’t freaking him the hell out but he seemed to fail on all counts.

Whitney stood up and walked over to him, she stroked his arm and told him that she would give them some space to talk before she threw another icy glare over at Ben and walked out the door. Callum could hear her heavy footsteps on the stairs as she went and the slam of the door at the bottom. They stood in silence for what felt like forever, Callum wanted to say something but when he opened his mouth he found it hard to speak. Eventually his brain started to work again, “I thought you were leaving town” he stated as calm and collected as he could.

Ben took a step closer to him and reached into his pocket to pull out an envelope. It was the one containing the money that he’d left at the hotel, “I was.. but you left this behind and I wanted to give it to you”, his hand was shaking slightly as he held the cash out to the taller man. Callum swallowed but didn’t reach out to take it, how does he explain that he didn’t want it because it tainted what he felt they had, especially after he asked Ben for the cash to start with. “I…” he just didn’t know what to say.

Ben took a step closer, “I was surprised when I came down to leave, seeing it sitting on the table…” he took another step closer, “I was going to go, get out of town, travel north for my next meeting in the morning…” another step, “but I couldn’t stop thinking about it… about you… why you didn’t take it… I couldn’t leave until I spoke to you”. One more step had him standing in front of Callum, “I thought… if you didn’t take it then there must be a reason and I want to know why”, he reached out and brushed his fingertips to the back of Callum’s hand which was hanging down by his side and it sent a shiver through his body.

“I…” could Callum say it out loud, Ben is here in front of him, asking him why. It would be so easy to lie and say he forgot it and thank him for bringing it round, but if he just said the truth what’s the worst that could happen. Essentially he’s already lost Ben, not that he was ‘his’ to start with, but it couldn’t be any worse than it is now. He couldn’t go back to their arrangement if he wanted to, he couldn’t just wave goodbye with the cash in his hand and a smile on his face. Ben was looking at him so openly, his eyes wide and more blue than he’d ever seen them.

“Talk to me Cal, please” Ben’s fingers found their way around his hand and he was holding on, entwining their fingers. He started to crack, the way Ben was being with him, coming to find him and talk, there had to be more to it than simple curiosity. He reached his other hand out and brought it to Ben’s cheek, cupping his face and before he knew it was leaning forwards to press a kiss to his lips. It was a simple kiss, lips gently resting together with no intention of it going further but there was so much passion behind it. He hoped it would do some of the work of conveying how he felt without him needing to speak it. 

He pulled back and let go of his face, Ben was looking at him so adoringly it warmed his heart, he truly started to believe that it wasn’t one sided and felt brave enough to say what was really going on. “I heard you on the phone… that I was your employee… that’s why I asked for the money”. Ben’s face fell and he closed his eyes for a second before he opened them again and looked directly at him, “you’re not an employee, I… I just wasn’t prepared to get into it with my mate, this is… what we have, what we are, I don’t know what it is but it’s not that, at least I don’t think it is” he said with a hopeful look on his face.

Ben continued, “remember that day in the bath, I didn’t let you touch me right?” Callum nodded, he was so confused that day, Ben continued “I didn’t want you to have to do it because I was paying you. I wanted you to want to do it”. Callum wanted to interrupt and to say he did want to, even back then he wanted the other man so badly but he sensed Ben had more to say. “It felt like if I let you do something like that then I would only ever be a customer to you… I didn’t want that”

Callum breathed out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding, hearing Ben be honest with him, his reasons for keeping him at arms length for so long… it was because he wanted more, more than just a quick fuck with a hooker. “When you came back, and neither of us mentioned payment I dared to believe there was something there, that you wanted me too. But when you asked for the money, god Cal, that was…” Callum reached out again to cup Ben’s cheek, reassuring him that it was ok, “when I thought you did just see me as another one of those men it broke me. Then I saw the money and it took me the whole night to to try and think it through, to pluck up the courage to come talk to you”.

Callum took over then, “I didn’t care about the money, I didn’t come back the second time for payment, I did it cos I missed ya and wanted to be there, I was already in way too deep to say no Ben, I was already feeling too much.” Ben smiled the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen in his life, the relief spread across the smaller man’s face that he wasn’t alone, that he felt something too, “it broke my heart when I asked for payment, the look on your face… I wanted to thump myself for that” Ben just shook his head and moved his hand to cover Callum’s on his face and closed his eyes.

Callum moved forwards and connected their lips again, this time the kiss was deeper, more passionate and desperate. Ben threw the money he was still holding to one side and slid his hand around the back of Callum’s neck, pulling him closer to him as Callum’s hand wrapped around his back and pulled their bodies flush up against one another. The sadness and anger they’d both felt melted away and in it’s place was need and want, hands beginning to grab at each other, a desperate ripping of clothes to get to skin. Callum pulled away and whispered “bedroom” to Ben before he nearly pulled the other man’s arm out of it’s socket in a rush to get in there.

Afterwards they lay exhausted and sated, naked and wrapped up together. Neither man slept well the previous night so after their afternoon session all they could do was fall asleep, finding slumber way better together than apart. Whitney came back to see what happened, she opened the flat door and spotted the money strewn over the floor, worried that something bad had gone down. When she pushed the bedroom door open and saw the two men asleep together she backed back out of the room, a little smile tugging on the corners of her mouth. She wrote out a note to leave for Callum and decided to pop to Ruby’s for the night, leaving the flat as quietly as she could.

When Callum woke up some hours later Ben was still wrapped around him sleeping peacefully and he smiled, this was real, it really happened and wasn’t a dream. He wasn’t alone in his feelings, Ben felt it too. He moved his head to kiss the top of Ben’s head where it lay on his chest, the movement enough to make the other man stir and wake up. Contented eyes opened to see the blue eyes staring back at him and he smiled, as pleased as Callum was to see that they really were both here.

They eventually made it out of bed a little while later, Callum found the note from Whit and appreciated that she was giving them some time alone, he picked up his phone to send her a message though, to check that she was ok and to let her know that everything was good at home. He went to join Ben where he sat on the sofa, he was wearing Whitney’s dressing gown over the top of a pair of pants, he himself was similarly dressed, except his dressing gown wasn’t animal print like Whitney’s was. It looked good on Ben though and Callum teased him that pink was his colour. 

They snuggled up on the sofa, just the material of the gowns separating their skin as they chatted easily, the conversation flowing as if they’d known each other their whole lives. It was reminiscent of that night they stayed up all night talking, feeling comfortable enough with the other man to really talk honestly about what they felt. Callum’s fingers were brushing through Ben’s hair, almost stroking him as if he were a cat, especially given the contented purring noise the other man was making and it was making them both feel like they could disclose all of their feelings and thoughts.

“When did you start to think of me as… U’know… more than just a ‘customer’?” Ben air quoted as he asked the question.

“I dunno, I think maybe the third night when I tried to kiss ya, I weren’t kidding when I said I don’t kiss on the mouth and it was all I could think about doing” Callum blushed as Ben looked up at him, Ben moved up to kiss him in response before he settled back down, “and you? When did you start to think of it as more than a business deal?”

“It’s hard to say, I mean I fancied ya straight off obviously”

“Obviously”

“Shut up” Ben laughed as poked Callum in the side, “I guess when you fell asleep that first night”

Callum looked shocked at that, “you didn’t know anything about me then… how?”

“Well no, but you just looked so young and innocent, it made me want to look after you. I realised it wasn’t going to be quite the professional relationship we planned on”

“I wish you’d said something earlier, we wasted so much time” Callum said as he leaned down to kiss the top of the other man’s head, Ben agreed, but they knew that they could spend time together from now on, to try and catch up on lost time. It felt amazing to be able to talk so openly about what they wanted, Callum had spent so long afraid to bring it up, too scared that if he told Ben how he was feeling then the other man would walk away and end what they had, to hear how Ben really felt was overwhelming, overwhelming and amazing.

He started to believe that they could have a future together, that a millionaire could fall for a hooker after all. It seemed incredible and unlikely, but here they are… sitting on the sofa together, limbs tangled and hands stroking over each other’s skin as they basked in the warmth of finally finding what they’d both been missing for such a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t have the boys separated and upset for too long now could I.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter guys, thanks for coming along for the ride!

They spent the night at Callum’s flat, using the time and space to alternate between making love and talking. Ben had to leave in the morning, to go have the meeting he’d rescheduled from that day, but he promised that he would be back a couple of days later. He was meant to be away for longer but now they’d admitted they had feelings for each other there was no way that he was going to he able to stay away for too long.

In the morning, when it was time for Ben to leave, it was horrible. It was so hard saying goodbye, but Callum knew that he would see him again soon, Ben promised he’d be back as soon as he could and he believed him. Callum walked with him to his cab and when he went to get in he pulled him close and kissed him, “see you in a couple of days ok, I will be back Cal”. Callum kissed the top of his head and unwrapped his arms from around his body, he watched as Ben climbed in and was driven away.

He went back into the flat when the car was out of sight and looked around, the flat was the same as it was yesterday but it felt different now. He wouldn’t be living here for much longer he knew that, this flat and life was never his long term plan, it was always a means to an end. Ben said that he didn’t want Callum to have to change for him, that if he wanted to continue doing what he was doing it wasn’t his place to ask him to stop. But if he chose to, then he would pay his college fees if he wanted to get a different sort of job instead.

They had discussed getting a place together but both knew it was far too soon, ok they spent a lot of time together but it was a huge leap to go from starting to date to living together so quickly. It would be easier realistically, Ben would have a base in the city with no need to stay in the hotel so often and he’d sort out the finances so Callum wouldn’t need to be earning so much to pay rent and save for college. He could get an evening job in a pub or something, a bit of cash to call his own. It was tempting, spending all his time with Ben, but he couldn’t leave Whitney, she took him in when he had nothing and nobody, there was no way he could abandon her.

Just then she came home, opening the door slowly and poking her head around to check it was safe to come in. When she saw the coast was clear she came barrelling in and launched herself at Callum, jumping into his arms and squeezing him tightly. “I can’t believe you’ve hooked yourself a millionaire” she squealed as she let Callum put her back down on the floor, he smiled at that and blushed slightly. They sat down and she insisted on knowing every single detail of what happened, of what’s going to happen. When is Ben coming back, what are they going to do. Callum told her everything, including that he didn’t want to leave her.

“Babes, you can’t put your life on hold for me” she insisted, “if you wanna leave then you gotta do it. This wasn’t ever going to be forever was it”, he shook his head, “I’ve got Rubes as a wingman don’t you worry about that”. Callum was determined though, “Whit, we’re in this together, we’re meant to be moving on together. Your course starts next week.” She stopped him then and said she would still be going to college, they’d paid for the first few terms already. She didn’t want to let the opportunity go either. The conversation ended with Whitney insisting he move out and Callum insisting he stay, neither one willing to budge.

Over the next few days they didn’t talk about it, with a stalemate there was no point. Callum continued to go to college though and Tom couldn’t help but notice that he was in a much better mood, “it all worked out then did it?” He asked when Callum was whistling as he was whisking some egg whites, the other man just smiled in reply and nodded, continuing to whisk. Tom touched his shoulder and told him he was pleased for him and Callum believed him.

When Ben returned he drove himself, Callum teased him that he had a working sat nav this time as he opened the flat door. Ben just rolled his eyes and walked straight towards him, arms outstretched and hugged him with such force that it nearly knocked him off his feet. “Missed you” he whispered into the taller man’s chest, “me too”, Callum kissed the top of his head. Ben only had a night to stay, he had to get back to work but was so desperate to see Callum that he didn’t care about the 300 mile round trip he would be making for the sake of a few hours.

They fell into bed almost immediately, not emerging until a couple of hours later and when they walked into the living room, sleepy and happy, Whitney was sitting in there. “Hey” she said from her position on the sofa. Ben said hi back and went to sit in the armchair, Callum followed him and perched on the arm, one of his legs draped over Ben’s lap with Ben’s arm wrapped around his waist.. It felt as natural as anything to be in such close contact, to remain touching one another even when in company.

It was a little awkward to start with, the only other time Ben and Whitney had been in the same room together she was less than happy with him, glaring and giving him evils. After a while though the atmosphere thawed, she could see how comfortable and happy Callum seemed to be in his presence and soon Ben was managing to charm his way into her affections. She saw this as the perfect opportunity to try and get her way with Callum, to get him to leave and move on with his life. Callum tried to stop her in her tracks, tell her that he wasn’t leaving her but Ben interrupted them both.

“Look, I don’t want to take Cal away from you, I don’t want him to lose you, you clearly mean a lot to him. I was thinking, I had a look at properties, a place to live. I found a house… it’s not right in the city but it’s only about 30 minutes from your college”, both of them were looking at him as he continued. “It has three bedrooms, a garden… but importantly an annexe”, he looked directly at Whitney, “its basically your own place within what could be ‘our’ place”, he put his hand on Callum’s knee. “I know it’s too early to move in together, but I spend so much time travelling, it could be the perfect place for me to stay when I come back.”

Callum looked at Ben shocked, amazed that the other man has been looking for places and falling for him that little bit more that he was specifically looking for somewhere where Whitney could live too. He didn’t think he’d ever met anyone as thoughtful or as generous before in his life and if his best friend wasn’t sitting a few metres away, he’d have jumped on Ben then and there. He restrained himself though and looked over at Whit, she was looking as shell shocked and surprised at the suggestion as he was.

It was all so unexpected and new, they said they needed to talk about it and have time to think, not wanting to rush into anything. Ben and Callum had literally just admitted they had feelings for one another, doing this was a huge leap. When Ben left the next day he told Callum that there was no pressure, he wouldn’t be upset if they decided to stay put, “I just want to help is all” he said as he kissed Callum on the cheek. The taller man nodded and said he knew that, it was very generous of him but it was just too soon. Ben understood and gave him a another kiss, telling him he’d be back again in a week.

Over the week Callum and Whitney discussed it a lot, arguing if it as a good idea or not. Ben rang every day, and every day when Callum hung up the phone he missed him a little bit more. The week dragged so badly that by the time Ben was due back Callum was vibrating from the excitement of seeing him again. When he knocked on the door Callum nearly pulled it off of its hinges and grabbed at him, pushing him hard against the wall. They didn’t make it to the bedroom.

It continued like that for a while, Ben would go away and come back for the odd night. Those were the best days for them both, curled up in bed together while Whitney set up camp in the living room, vacating the bed with no issue whatsoever. She was happy for them both and came to feel affection for the man that was making her best friend so happy, even if the sofa was giving her a bad back.

Callum and Whitney were both at college now, they’d given up their nighttime work, Callum got a job in a pub and Whit in a coffee shop instead. They weren’t making the money they were as prostitutes but they were getting by with Ben paying for both of their courses for them. He insisted he wanted to do it and said it was an investment, they could pay him back later if they wanted to but Callum suspected that Ben had no intention of taking any money off them. Callum was determined though, he didn’t want Ben to think he was ever with him for his money even though Ben told him constantly that he knew that he wasn’t.

It took a few months but eventually they all realised how silly they were being. What Ben had suggested initially about buying a place for them, they should be doing it. The younger man was basically living there with them anyway when he came to town, they were just all a bit cramped and on top of each other in the one bedroom flat. On one of the nights Ben came home and they were in bed together, Callum leaning his head on Ben’s chest, he brought up the subject. He was running a finger around Ben’s belly button idly, naturally wanting to run his fingers over Ben’s body without even thinking about it when he said about it.

Ben’s hand was in his hair and when the older man mentioned it he immediately stopped his fingers from twisting in the strands of hair. As soon as Ben realised where the conversation was gong, that Callum was suggesting that he go ahead with the house he mentioned he couldn’t hide his excitement, pushing Callum onto his back and twisting them over so he was laying on top of him. He pushed a thigh in between his legs and kissed him, feeling the other man respond to him immediately as a hardness sprang against his leg.

As Ben moved slowly inside of Callum’s body he couldn’t help the “I love you” from tumbling out of his lips, it was the first time either of them had used the L word and he worried that it was out there now and couldn’t be taken back. He stilled his movements in panic but Callum wrapped his legs around the other man’s body, “I love you too” he whispered as he pulled Ben’s face down to connect their lips again, their bodies and souls in perfect unison together. It was mind blowing, the slow and sensual act of making love, the mutual declarations of love between them… when they came they simply held onto one another, shaking slightly and nuzzling against each other’s skin with Ben still inside Callum’s body, connecting them. 

It had been some months since Ben had started staying at their flat and with the agreement of all of them they set about looking for somewhere new, and it was a massive relief to be looking for more space. The house that Ben found originally was under offer already so they went house hunting together, the three of them. Nothing seemed right though and they couldn’t find anywhere that was close enough to the college which had somewhere for Whitney to live. She tried to bow out, to tell them to find somewhere for just the two of them but they both told her to sod off, Ben insisted they’d convert somewhere if they needed to, reiterating that he had no intention of taking Callum away from her.

In the end they didn’t need to, a fortnight later Ben had a call from the estate agent to say the sale on the house had fallen through and was back on the market. Ben was away with work at the time but he called Callum and told him and Whitney to get over there to look at it to see what they thought. They went over later that day and when they arrived they knew it was the one they were waiting for. The house was beautiful, modern but with character and was everything they dreamed it would be.

In the main house there was a huge master bedroom and en-suite for the boys, a guest room and a spare room set up as an office, the perfect place for Ben to work. The kitchen was amazing and Callum’s eyes had hearts in as he looked around it, knowing how much good work he could do in here. The college course had really reignited his love for cooking again and a big open plan kitchen was a dream for him. Of course Ben knew that and as soon as he saw this kitchen in person, it’s what sold him on the house to start with.

The annexe was perfect for Whitney, as she and Callum walked around it she was close to tears, there were the usual bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and lounge but Ben had text to say to check out the loft space… when they went up there it was a bright big space with skylights, the sunshine streaming in and she realised it was the perfect space for her to design and make the clothes for her course. She turned round and flung herself at her best friend, so grateful to have him and Ben in her life.

Ben put an offer in for the house, which was accepted immediately and when Ben returned to the flat after another week away, Whitney had to stay round Ruby’s, the boys’ reunion and excitement at seeing each other was maybe a little too much for her to be able ignore in another room. The night was spent much like the first time they slept together, an endless cycle of making love and recovering. The desperate need to touch each other, a kiss, a soft stroke of the arm, every action resulted in the same thing and by the morning they were exhausted. Laying in bed, Ben curled around Callum like the very first night they met, it felt like they were where they were meant to be… together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok originally chapter 13 was the last chapter, but I had already written some more which didn’t fit in with the tone of it so split it. I wasn’t sure whether to post this part but figured I would since it was written already. 
> 
> I was very pleased that they seemed to remember Callum and Whitney’s friendship in the proposal episode, it makes their friendship seem more understandable in this fic 😂. 
> 
> I’m not 100% saying it’s going to happen but I’m hoping to write a companion piece/chapter from Ben’s perspective. I don’t have a timescale though.


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